Ricky Ponting snubs Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as he names India's main heroes in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph

India won their third ICC Champions Trophy title.

Ricky Ponting has snubbed the veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as he credited the all-rounders of the Indian team for their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph. India defeated New Zealand in the final of the ICC event in Dubai to win by four wickets and become three-time champions.

Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli led the way for India with the bat, while Mohammad Shami and Varun Chakaravarthy were the key bowlers. Iyer made 243 runs while Kohli made 218 runs including a brilliant 100* against Pakistan and a sublime 84 runs against Australia in the semi-finals.

Mohammad Shami and Varun Chakaravarthy both picked up fifers for India and took nine wickets each for the Men in Blue.

Despite this, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, a two-time Champions Trophy winner himself, credited India’s all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya for their performance in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

“Their all-rounders right through the tournament were outstanding. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Hardik Pandya were all outstanding. I said at the start of the tournament I thought India would be really hard to beat because of their overall balance and because of that mix of youth and experience, and once again, in a final, the captain stands up and gets the job done for his team,” Ponting told ICC.

Axar Patel was impressive with both the bat and the ball, while Hardik Pandya opened the bowling with Shami for the majority of the tournament to accommodate four spinners in the XI. Jadeja showed his experience with crucial wickets and runs at crunch times.

“They were a very well-balanced side, Ricky Ponting stated

With three all-rounders starting in all five of India’s Champions Trophy games, the team demonstrated remarkable batting depth while also having a variety of options with the ball.

Breaking down their contributions, Ponting said, “They were a very well-balanced side anyway, but because they had so many all-rounders…when you’ve got Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel, who they used up the order on several occasions for that left-handed option, and with Jadeja there as well, they were a very well-balanced team.”

“The only thing you would probably say is they probably looked a little bit light on fast bowling, but as it turned out, they didn’t need that. That’s where Hardik Pandya’s role becomes really important—to be able to bowl with a new ball and get through some overs early to make it a little bit easier for the spinners in the backend of their Powerplay and also through the middle overs where they predominantly bowl and spin pretty much right through the middle of the game,” he added.

Axar, who frequently appeared for the Indian team when they batted, mostly at No. 5, was also praised profusely by Ponting.

“Axar Patel is the other one that I think needs a lot of credit for this tournament. I think his bowling was as consistent and rock-solid as you’d ever see. Then, just some of those little cameos he played with the bat, coming in earlier and sort of steadying the ship and just making life a little bit easier for the lower order in KL. Rahul, Pandya, and Jadeja… I think he deserves a lot of credit for his tournament,” Ponting signed off.

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