New Delhi

Former Australia skipper and two-time ODI World Cup winner Ricky Ponting has lauded India skipper Rohit Sharma for his 'laid back' attitude and ability to cope with pressure. Ponting's comments come after India won their first three games in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023, including wins against Australia and Afghanistan.

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"He's very laid back, Rohit. Very laid back with everything he does,” Ponting told the ICC.

"You can even see that by the way that he plays. He's a pretty laconic sort of batsman as well, and that's the way he is both on and off the field," added the former Australia skipper.

Talking about the pressure, Ponting opined that the big tournament will get to India but Rohit will be able to cope with that. He also said that Rohit is more equipped to deal with pressure than someone like Virat (Kohli).

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"We can't sit back and say that the pressure won't get to them at some stage, or it won't affect them, because it will, just with the enormity of the tournament.

"But he'll take it and cope with it as well as probably anyone.”

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"Someone like Virat, who is a bit more heart-on-the-sleeve, and probably listens to the fans and plays up with the fans a little bit more, someone with his personality would probably find it a bit harder,” Ponting said.

"But I think Rohit will be fine with it. He's a terrific bloke and has been a great player for a long time, and he's done a great job as leader of India.”

The former Australia skipper also said that India is the team to beat in this World Cup and have all their bases covered.

"I said from the start that I think they're going to be the team to beat. They've got a very talented team,” Ponting said.

"They've got all bases covered with their fast bowling, their spin and their top-order, middle-order batting.

"They're going to be extremely hard to beat. But we'll see how they hold up under extreme pressure as well.”

India next play Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune.

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