India head coach Gautam Gambhir did not hold back when he was asked about Ricky Ponting's criticism of Virat Kohli regarding the lack of Test centuries in last five years. Gambhir advised Ponting to worry about Australian cricket. Reacting to the incident, former Australia cricketer Michael Hussey said that it will be silly to write off champion players like Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma.
"You could hear earlier Gautam Gambhir talking about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma not making runs. Well, the silliest thing you can do is to write off champion players and we've seen it so many times in the past. They come under a bit of criticism and come out and perform really well. So I'm backing those guys in particular to perform really strongly in Australia. They are proud Indians, they're proud Test cricketers and they'll put in a good performance. So I'm expecting to see the best of India, but I still think Australia will start favourites and will be primed to win this series," Hussey said on Fox Sports.
Hussey talked about India's historic cleansweep at home against New Zealand. He feels that the Indian players will be hurt after the shocking loss and in the Perth Test it will be clear where they are mentally.
"We'll find out in that first Test match where they are at mentally and from a skill perspective as well. It was a shock to see them lose to New Zealand 3-0. You just don't see that happen over there, ever, really. So they'll be hurt by this - India and they've got a lot of proud players and a lot of quality," the 49-year-old said.
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What Ponting said about Kohli
Earlier, Ponting said that any top-order batter would not have been able to retain his place in the side with numbers like Kohli in past five years. However, he backed the 36-year-old to do well in Australia where he averages over 50.
“I saw a stat the other day about Virat, it said he's only scored two (three) Test hundreds in the last five years. That didn't seem right to me, but if that is right, then that is, I mean, that's a concern. There wouldn't be anyone else probably even playing international cricket as a top-order batsman that's only scored two Test match hundreds in five years," Ponting said on the ICC Review.
"I've said it before about Virat, you don't ever question the greats of the game. There's no doubt, he's a great of the game," he added.
The Test series will commence on November 22 at Perth Stadium.
