NEW DELHI: The great Ricky Ponting believes that Australia and India are the favorites to participate in the summit match of the ICC Champions Trophy because of their recent history and player quality.
The 50-over competition will be held at three locations in Pakistan and one in Dubai from February 19 to March 9.
"It's hard to go past India and Australia again," Ponting told the ICC Review.
"Just think about the quality of players in both countries right now, and you look back in recent history when these big finals and big ICC events have come around, and inevitably Australia and India are there somewhere," said the former Australia captain.
The only two teams to win the Champions Trophy twice are Australia and India. Australia won back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2009, while India won the title in 2013 and shared the trophy with Sri Lanka in 2002 after the final was rained out.
Ponting said that Pakistan, the reigning champions who won the 2017 tournament, will also be a formidable opponent.
"The other team that is playing some really good cricket at the moment is Pakistan," said Ponting, who won two ODI World Cups and as many Champions Trophy titles as captain.
"Their one-day cricket over the last little bit has been absolutely outstanding. We know they're not always the most predictable team in those big tournaments, but they seem like they've sorted things out a little bit."
Last year, Pakistan won all three of their ODI series, including a 3-0 thumping of South Africa and a 2-1 comeback victory in Australia and Zimbabwe.
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