Ricky Ponting once again backs Virat Kohli and comes up with radical suggestion for WTC Final
The former Aussie skipper is not at all concerned with Kohli's not scoring runs because he is quite certain the 34-year-old will bounce back.
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Ricky Ponting; Virat Kohli
The talk surrounding Virat Kohli‘s form in Test cricket has started again. The former India skipper could manage just 111 runs in five innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Now all eyes will be on him during the fourth Test in Ahmedabad, which will start on March 9. But, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is scarcely concerned with Kohli’s current form. Ponting pointed out that batting at those turning tracks has been an absolute nightmare for the batters and as Kohli is a “Champion player”, he will soon find his rhythm.
“I am not looking at anybody’s form in this Test series because, for a batsman, it has been an absolute, it’s been a nightmare,” Ponting told Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. “For Virat, I’ve said it before I say it over and over. Champion players always find a way, and yes, it might seem like he’s in a bit of a drought at the moment and he might not be scoring the runs that we all expect him to score.’“
Ponting that added Kohli is a realist so he is perfectly aware that he is struggling to score runs. The former Aussie skipper is not at all concerned with Kohli’s not scoring runs because he is quite certain the 34-year-old will bounce back.
Kohli’s last century in red-call cricket came in 2019 against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens, where he played a 136-run knock. Though he struggled with his bat for over three years across all formats, last year, he bounced back in style in white-ball cricket.
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Ricky Ponting comes up with a radical suggestion for WTC Final
Ricky Ponting then came up with a radical suggestion if India are to play the final of the ICC World Test Championship. He believes India should include KL Rahul in the XI for the one-off decider showpiece at The Oval.
Rahul, who is terribly out of form right now, has scored two of his seven Test centuries in England, including a 149 at The Oval in 2018. But his present form has invited Shubman Gill as his replacement for the third Test in Indore. Ponting thinks, both Rahul and Gill can be included in the XI; that Shubman should open the innings and Rahul can move down into the middle order.
Ponting then stressed the English condition which is contrasting with that of the Indian subcontinent. The 48-year-old said that the ball swings for longer periods of time during the day, so he urged both India and Australia to forget India’s extreme conditions and adapt themselves to the English conditions and select the best XI.
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Gouri Das
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