Photo Credit: SA20 League
Australian legend Ricky Ponting is hugely excited about the prospect of Marco Jansen joining up with Indian superstar Arshdeep Singh as the Punjab Kings’ new-ball combination for IPL 2025.
Ponting went hard in search of Jansen’s extraordinary all-round talents at the IPL mega-auction in Jeddah last week with the 24-year-old fetching a Rs 7 crore (R14.9-million) bid.
“I thought it was very good buy,” Ponting exclusively told Betway SA20 in Jeddah.
“We budgeted more, we thought there would be a fair bit of interest from teams around Marco, him being a world-class allrounder.”
Jansen’s pedigree as one the leading allrounders in the world is unquestionable and is already a proven match and championship winner.
The left-arm fast bowler was the leading wicket-taker in Betway SA20 Season 2 with his 20 scalps driving the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back titles.
He also shone on at MLC in the United States, where he claimed 11 wickets, including 3/28 in the final which helped Washington Freedom claim their maiden MLC championship.
It was at MLC, where Ponting was also head coach, had an up-close look at Jansen’s prodigious talent.
“I think he is on the up. He will only get better year after year,” Ponting said.
“I had a chance to work with him in MLC at the Washington Freedom. A lovely guy and a highly talented player. We will get even more out of him this year at the IPL.”
Punjab Kings had already earlier in the auction exercised their “RTM” (Right to Match) card to keep Arshdeep in their stable after Sunrisers Hyderabad had bid Rs 18 crore for the leading T20 bowler in international cricket in 2025.
Ponting cannot wait for the two southpaws to pair up in next year’s IPL.
“We are delighted to have him (Jansen),” he said.
“He will probably form a very good new-ball combination with Arshdeep Singh. The two left-armers running in at either end. I am really excited about the impact he might have on the IPL next year.”
Jansen further emphasised his growing status in the international game when he claimed a maiden 11-wicket match haul in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead in Durban last week.
He claimed career-best figures of 7/13 in the first innings to rout the Sri Lankans for a record low 42 before closing out the Test with 4/73 in the second innings.
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Name of Author: SA20 League
SA20, officially known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa organized by Cricket South Africa (CSA). First held in the 2023 season, the league features six city-based teams. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the first two editions of the tournament.
