Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 17 (ANI): Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy felicitated Indian cricketer Tilak Varma following India's historic triumph in the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where the Men in Blue defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The victory marked India's back-to-back T20 World Cup titles, further cementing the nation's status as a powerhouse in international cricket. The Men in Blue also became the first men's team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title.

The left-handed batter Varma scored 207 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 154.47.

Meanwhile, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said that the current Indian side has established itself as one of the strongest white-ball teams ever, crediting their depth, experience and consistency in ICC events over the last few years.

Reflecting on India's dominance across ICC white-ball tournaments, Ponting said the team's record over the last few years speaks for itself.

'It's really hard to argue a point against that,' Ponting said on the ICC Review when asked if the current Indian group is the strongest ever assembled in T20I cricket.'

'If you look at this, not just the T20I team but their white-ball record in ICC events over the last five or six years, it's quite remarkable.'

'A lot of people probably identified before this tournament started the depth and the strength that this current Indian team had, and also the experience that they have.'

Ponting also highlighted that India's latest triumph is the result of years of building a squad capable of dominating global tournaments.

'This is a very, very strong Indian white-ball team, not just a T20 team. Back-to-back World Cups, hats off to them,' Ponting added. (ANI)