“He reminds me a bit of Andrew Symonds”: Ricky Ponting wants Tim David to be a part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad

Ricky Ponting wants Tim David to play the T20 World Cup for Australia, and he has compared him with Andrew Symonds.

Tim David has seen a meteoric rise in his T20 career after making his switch from Perth Scorchers to Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL. He got regular opportunities for Hobart, where he proved his quality. Apart from BBL, David made his mark in the Caribbean Premier League and Pakistan Super League as well.

In IPL 2022 auction, David hit a jackpot when Mumbai Indians bought him for a whopping price of INR 8.25 crores. Despite initial failures, David was brilliant in the latter half of the tournament, and he finished with152 runs at an average of 38.00, whereas his S/R was 202.66.

Tim recently played for Lancashire in the T20 Blast, and he again was pretty successful with the bat. He scored 405 runs at an incredible S/R of 174.56, whereas he also scalped four wickets with the ball.

Ricky Ponting compares Tim David to Andrew Symonds

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has said that if he was the selector of the side, he would definitely pick Tim David in the T20 World Cup squad. Ponting, who will work with Tim David in the upcoming BBL for Hobart Hurricanes said that the power-hitting of David makes him an absolute match winner for the side.

“If I was a selector, I would love to have someone like that in my team,” Ponting said.

“If he’s playing or not, just to have that sort of striking power ability around, he’s an out and out match-winner.”

He even compared David to the late Andrew Symonds, who played a big part in Australia’s 2003 World Cup winning campaign. Symonds scored 326 runs in the 2003 World Cup, courtesy of 2 half-centuries and 1 century, and he impressed everyone with his power hitting. Like Symonds, David can also chip in with some overs as well.

“He’s the sort of player that could actually win you a World Cup. He’s not just the average run-of-the-mill guy that might just sneak into a squad,” Ponting said.

“He actually reminds me a bit of someone like an Andrew Symonds back in the 2003 World Cup. You know if you get them in and you give him an opportunity they’re a chance of winning a tournament for you.”

Apart from Ponting, there are several Australian players who have backed Tim David’s selection in the T20 World Cup squad. David has played 11 T20Is for his birth country Singapore, where he has scored 429 runs at a strike-rate of 157.72.