Ricky Ponting praised New Zealand, he said ICC Champions Trophy is not far away now!
It is only a matter of time that they will win the ICC Trophy soon. Ricky Ponting said this on New Zealand’s Champions Trophy campaign, who reached the final in this year’s ICC event.
Ricky Ponting praised the New Zealand team:
Former Australian team captain Ricky Ponting praised the New Zealand team. The New Zealand team reached the final in the Champions Trophy 2025. They had to face defeat from India in the title match. On this, Ricky Ponting has said that New Zealand should be proud even after being the runner-up of the Champions Trophy. Ponting also claimed that the New Zealand team is going to win the ICC Trophy in the coming times.
Speaking to Crystal Arnold in the latest edition of ICC Review after the Champions Trophy 2025 Final,
Ricky Ponting said, “I don’t think it (Champions Trophy campaign for New Zealand) went wrong at all. I think they played another fantastic tournament. They were brilliant from start to finish. I was asked at the start of the tournament who do I think will be in the final four? As soon as you start talking about the top four for ICC competitions, you have to include New Zealand in it, because they always do.”
He further added, “However, I didn’t do that this time, because I thought Pakistan would win at home and I thought South Africa would win. So I didn’t put New Zealand there and of course they are there again and their performance against South Africa in the semi-finals was brilliant, which led them to the final. You probably don’t see a better ODI than that.”
Ponting further praised the Kiwi team and said:
“They came up against a very good team in the final and they were not far away from victory. India won in the 49th or 50th over. They didn’t do much wrong. They didn’t have some of their star players in this match. It was also without Matt Henry, who was their highest wicket-taker in the tournament. So they had a fantastic campaign. And if they keep themselves there, it’s only a matter of time that they (win ICC tournaments).”