According to Ricky Ponting, India's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 victory was mostly based on the expertise of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but they also received excellent backing from their all-rounders.

Virat Kohli scored 218 runs, and Rohit Sharma won the Player of the Final for his 76 runs against New Zealand in the summit clash in Dubai. Apart from this, Mohammad Shami and Varun Chakaravarthy took 9 wickets each including a fifer as well.

However, for Ponting, India’s Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja, the all-rounders were the main reason for their victory.

“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 said on the ICC Review show.

During the just-finished Champions Trophy, India demonstrated an amazing batting depth and a wide range of choices with the ball by starting three all-rounders in each of their five games.

Axar Patel made 109 runs and took 5 wickets, and Hardik Pandya took 4 wickets and made 99 runs. Ravindra Jadeja scored 27 runs and took 5 wickets.

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, 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.

Ponting also lavished praise on Axar, who was a regular feature of the Indian team coming into bat mainly at No.5.

“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.

(ICC inputs)