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Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting recently voiced concerns about Virat Kohli's form ahead of all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy inclusion in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kohli has been grappling with a lean patch, leading to intense scrutiny of his Test performances.
Gautam Gambhir vs Ricky Ponting ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Despite his recent struggles, Kohli boasts an impressive record against Australia. The 36-year-old will undoubtedly be eager to prove his mettle in this challenging series. Along with Rohit Sharma, he is expected to spearhead India's batting lineup as the team faces immense pressure to deliver a strong performance.
Team India endured an embarrassing 0-3 Test series at the hands of New Zealand in their recent home series, and now, as they prepare to take on Australia on their own backyard, they face an even steeper challenge. With their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final on the line, they must win the five-match Test series 4-0 to secure their spot in the final.
Gautam Gambhir just throwing me in the deep end: Ricky Ponting
Amid these pressures, Ricky Ponting has once again fired a fresh shot at Gambhir, further clarifying his stance on the ongoing debate. In a recent appearance on the podcast show The Run Home with Joel & Fletch, Ponting fired a fresh salvo at Gambhir by saying:
"I'm not sure if I mentioned a couple of them, but I reckon he's just throwing me in the deep end, trying to find their two most experienced and make sure when they come out, they put that back on me."
“I was asked the other night if I was concerned about Virat Kohli's form. A day before, I had read his stats from the last five years, so it was clear in my mind. I think he made only two (three) centuries in the last five years. His average in India is now down to 30 from 90, during this period. So yes, I would be concerned. And I said if you ask him about his form, he would be concerned because it is nowhere near what it used to be," Ponting further stated
"But then I said since he loves playing in Australia and has a great record here, so if there ever was a tour where he could turn things around, it would be this. But they never talked about the second part. Then Gambhir went and faced the press having just lost against New Zealand. The hair on the back of his neck is already standing up. We got a bit of history as well, but he took a chance to fire back at me,” the Australia legend concluded.
It all started with Ricky Ponting's remark on Kohli where he said the India's batting maestro has just scored two hundreds in Tests in the last five years. Gambhir was in full mood to give it back to Ponting in India's pre-tour press conference where he said:
“What does Ricky Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? He should be talking about Australia. Look, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still passionate about the game and want to achieve more. They are hungry for success and have done exceptionally well for the country over the years."
Ponting also didn't hold and clapped back at Gambhir's retort by saying:
“I was surprised to read the reaction but knowing the coach, Gautam Gambhir … he’s quite a prickly character, so I’m not surprised it was him who said something back,” Ponting had said.
Ponting and Gambhir's recent comments have certainly hyped up the high-octane five-match Test series between India and Australia which is set to start from November 22.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
Australia's squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy's Perth Test
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
