Australian legend <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/we-have-been-starved-of-india-pakistan-test-match-rivalry-ponting-23240713" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Ricky Ponting</a> feels Mohammed Shami&rsquo;s strength lies in the longest format and there are better quick bowlers in India&rsquo;s T20 set up, weighing in on his absence from the Asia Cup squad.
India have picked <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/bhuvneshwar-kumar-no-change-in-bowling-action-hardwork-responsible-for-success-23238832" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Bhuvneshwar Kumar</a>, Avesh Khan and <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/keeping-things-simple-focusing-on-the-process-helps-arshdeep-singh-deliver-for-india-23239997" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Arshdeep Singh</a> as the three specialist fast bowlers with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the fourth pacer in the 15-member squad.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s [Shami] been a very, very good bowler for India for a long time now. If you look at his strengths, his Test cricket is probably where he thrives the most,&rdquo; Ponting, a two-time World Cup-winning captain, said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.
<img title="Australian legend Ricky Ponting" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2022/aug/shami-fourteen-b_e.jpg" alt="Australian legend Ricky Ponting" width="1280" height="720" />Australian legend Ricky Ponting
&ldquo;I think there are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Shami and they&rsquo;ve only named three [for the Asia Cup]. So if there&rsquo;s potentially four named in the squad, he might be the fourth man in.&rdquo;
<h2>Spin-heavy attack</h2>
With Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel nursing injuries, many felt Shami might be included to share the new-ball duties during the Asia Cup.
&ldquo;I would think they&rsquo;ll probably only have the four quicks coming to Australia. They&rsquo;ll still want to bring a lot of spin here even though the wickets are probably not that conducive,&rdquo; Ponting said.
Also Read: <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/in-pics-team-india-leave-for-zimbabwe-series-23240818" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">In Pics: Team India leave for Zimbabwe series</a>
The Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and Sharjah from August 27 to September 11 and Ponting picked India as the favourites to win the tournament.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always hard to go past India in any tournament, not just an Asia Cup, but I think every time we talk about the T20 World Cup which is coming up, I think that India will be right in the thick of it there,&rdquo; the 47-year-old said. &ldquo;Their depth is definitely better than the other teams and I think India will win the Asia Cup.&rdquo;
<h2>Starved of India-Pak rivalry</h2>
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan haven&rsquo;t competed in a bilateral series for nearly a decade now. &ldquo;To be totally honest, it&rsquo;s one that we&rsquo;ve been starved of, haven&rsquo;t we&mdash;looking back the last 15 or 20 years,&rdquo; Ponting said.
&ldquo;As a cricket lover, like I am, and a cricket observer, any time those sorts of battles come up it&rsquo;s almost always nice to sit back and watch because everything just goes up a notch, doesn&rsquo;t it?
&ldquo;When I think about rivalries, Australia and England and Ashes cricket is the pinnacle I&rsquo;ve always thought of for our Test match game. I&rsquo;m sure India and Pakistanis will say the same about that and the actual rivalry would be the pinnacle of Test match cricket for those two countries as well.&rdquo;
Ponting believes India have the depth to prevail over Pakistan. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll stick with India to win that [Asia Cup, August 28] clash against Pakistan. That&rsquo;s taking nothing away from Pakistan because they are an incredible cricket nation that continue to present out-and-out superstars.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Following Bengal fast bowler’s Asia Cup snub, Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting feels he is most suitable for the Test format


India have better pacers in T20 than Shami: Ponting

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