Not Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma!! Ricky Ponting predicts the top-scorer of IND vs AUS Tests

Legendary Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting has picked Rishabh Pant to be India's highest run-scorer in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Pant has been in tremendous batting form ever since his return from the life-threatening accident.

While there were many options like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal to choose from, Ponting chose Pant as India's best batter in the series. The wicketkeeper-batter was the highest run-scorer in the New Zealand Test series where he scored 261 runs in three Tests.

But the form of other batters is a huge cause of concern. Apart from Rishabh Pant, no other batter is scoring runs consistently and India paid the price for it against New Zealand. Senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also had a forgettable home Test season.

Also read: Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma told to relinquish their VVIP culture and play Domestic Cricket

Ricky Ponting picks Rishabh Pant to score most runs for India in BGT 2024-25

While speaking to ICC, Ricky Ponting picked the highest run-getters from both Australia and India. Ponting picked Steve Smith to be the highest run-getter for Australia and Rishabh Pant as the highest run-getter for India.

"Leading run scorer, I'm going to go (with) Steve Smith or Rishabh Pant," said the former Australia captain.

"With Rishabh back in the side and probably coming into bat in the middle order when the ball's probably lost a bit of its shine and a bit of its hardness and the form that he's in, I'll go for him as one of the leading run-scorers as well," he added.

Ricky Ponting has worked with Rishabh Pant in Delhi Capitals during the Indian Premier League and knows him well. The former Australian batter has been impressed with Pant before and rates him highly.

Rishabh Pant's recent form

Steve Smith has been moved back to his No. 4 position after his trial at the opening spot is over. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant has been in great form for the past few months. He scored 161 runs in two Tests against Bangladesh at an average of 53.66.

The wicketkeeper-batter did not stop here and followed it with an excellent performance against New Zealand later. Pant scored 261 runs in three Tests against New Zealand at an average of 43.50. He struck three half-centuries in the series, and two of those came in the last Test at Mumbai where batting was extremely difficult.

Ricky Ponting predicts the winner of BGT 2024-25

When asked about making a prediction for the series, Ricky Ponting stood in his claim that Australia will win the series 3-1. He had earlier predicted Australia to win the series by the same margin and reckons that the result won't change.

"I think India will win a Test match somewhere through the five Test matches. But I still think now, Australia probably looks a bit more settled, a bit more experienced and we know that they're a very hard team to beat at home. So I'll stick with the 3-1 (prediction)," Ponting claimed.

The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 will be played in Perth from November 22. The series consists of five Tests and will be crucial for both teams as they aim to cement their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year.