‘What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket?’- Gautam Gambhir defends Virat Kohli before BGT 2024-25

Ricky Ponting, a former cricketer for Australia, has expressed his worries over Virat Kohli’s performance in Test matches. Having only achieved two Test hundreds since 2019, the 36-year-old is currently having a difficult time. Ponting underlined the same point and said that a player with those types of numbers would have been removed from the team.

Virat has only amassed two (three) Test hundreds in the previous five years, according to a statistic I came across the other day. I didn’t think that was right, but if it is, then that is a problem. On the most recent episode of ICC Review, Ponting stated, “It’s unlikely that anyone else would be playing international cricket as a top-order batsman who has only scored two Test match hundreds in five years.”

India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, isn’t worried by Kohli’s performance, though, and is confident that the batsman can rediscover his magic in the five-match series against Australia. Eventually, the Delhi native poked fun at Ponting by urging him to focus on Australian cricket rather than Indian cricket in front of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is set to start on November 22.

How is Ponting related to Indian cricket? I think he need to consider Australian cricket and, more significantly, not be at all worried about Virat and Rohit. They seem like really tough dudes to me. At the November 11 press conference in Mumbai, Gambhir stated, “They have accomplished a lot for Indian cricket and will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well.”

What matters to the 43-year-old is that the senior cricket players are still driven and eager for greater success. While acknowledging that the series loss to New Zealand was regrettable, he also said that it may motivate the team for the five-match Australia series.

“What matters most to me is that they continue to put in a lot of effort, remain passionate, and have a strong desire to do much more. To me, the hunger in that dressing room is crucial.

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And for everyone in that changing room as well. And I sense that there is a great deal of appetite, particularly in light of the events of the previous series,” he continued.