One of the most successful skippers in the world cricket Ricky Ponting has always been regarded as the greatest batsman to grace the game. He is named in the league of elite cricketers of the game. However, the veteran off-spinner of India, Harbhajan Singh revealed how often he used to get better off him on the field or during the net sessions of Mumbai Indians.
With 13378 runs in 168 matches, he is second only to Sachin Tendulkar in the list of highest run-getters in Test cricket. Ricky Ponting stands at the third spot in ODIs behind Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara.
I got him 5-6 times even in nets – Harbhajan Singh
During a live chat session with Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan said that he had dismissed Ponting even while bowling in the nets when the two played together for Mumbai Indians. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, in reply, stated that it would have been the reason behind his poor performance with the bat for Mumbai.
“I think Ricky Ponting used to get out just by looking at my face. I didn’t even need to bowl at him. When he came to play for Mumbai Indians, I thought he would improve after playing me in the nets. But even there I got him out 5-6 times,” Harbhajan to Rohit.
“I think you dented his confidence even before the series started Bhajju Paa… Now I know why he couldn’t score runs that season” Rohit to Bhajji jokingly as the duo shared a good laugh.
Ricky Ponting didn’t have too much success with franchise leagues although he was part of the 2013 Mumbai squad that won the Indian T20 League. He then became the head coach of the franchise and under his guidance, they registered their second title in 2015.
Read More: Happy Birthday Sachin Tendulkar: An Ode To The God Of Cricket
On the other hand, Harbhajan Singh has moved to Chennai Super Kings in 2018, as Mumbai decided to leave him in the auction. He performed brilliantly for CSK and lifted the trophy under the leadership of MS Dhoni in 2018 and lost by 1 run in 2019 final.