India, Feb. 18 -- Ricky Ponting wasn't afraid to call a spade a spade following Australia's disastrous exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup. Australia endured a group-stage ouster following defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, with the Zimbabwe vs Ireland washout sealing their fate. Incidentally, Ponting was the captain when Australia suffered their only other league-stage elimination, in the 2009 edition in England.

The former captain was vocal about his concerns with this team, which was marred by injuries to Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and, to a certain extent, even Mitchell Marsh. The Australian captain did not feature in the game against Zimbabwe, which ended in an upset.

Ponting mentioned that he's been the butt of all jokes, with fell...