Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting. Photo- Twitter
Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting. Photo- Twitter

The war of words between Ricky Ponting and Gautam Gambhir continues as the former Australia captain has fired a fresh salvo at the Indian head coach ahead of the first Test between India and Australia at Perth that begins on November 22.

This all started when Ricky Ponting analyzed India batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s form after the New Zealand Test series whitewash. He mentioned how Kohli has scored just 3 Test centuries in the last 5 years, while Rohit Sharma has been equally poor with the bat in Test cricket.

Gambhir was asked to react to Ponting’s remarks by a reporter in a presser before India’s departure to Australia.

Gambhir emphasized that he had no worries about the tenacity of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, stating that the two legendary Indian batsmen are prepared to make a powerful return to Australia, particularly in light of the lessons they gained from their most recent home Test series loss to New Zealand.

“Not concerned about Kohli, Rohit. What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? He should look into Australian cricket. They are in good stead; proved players. There is hunger, especially what’s happened in the last series.

Ponting should think about Australian cricket and what concerns he has for Indian cricket. The hunger in that dressing room in important for me and I feel there is a lot of hunger. Virat and Rohit will bounce back,” Gambhir said at the presser.

Gambhir has also pointed out that senior players’ experience will be very crucial for the young players in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Hours after explaining his comment regarding Kohli’s form, Ponting said that he wasn’t sure if he was referring to other Indian batters because he felt singled out. He also added that India might have an opportunity to criticize him if one of them had a successful series in Australia.

“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,” Ricky Ponting said on the podcast “The Run Home with Joel & Fletch.”

“Hair on the back of his neck is already standing up”- Ricky Ponting says Gautam Gambhir is frightened

Ponting reiterated that although he was worried that Kohli had only managed three hundreds in the previous five years, with his home average falling to nearly 30, he believed that the Australia tour would provide the ideal opportunity for him to disprove his detractors given his stellar domestic record.

“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. 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,” Ricky Ponting added.

He noted that a “frightened” Gambhir shot at the reporter, who never brought up the second portion of his remark during the news conference before India left for Perth on Monday.

“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,” he said.

Also Read: India Does A U-Turn, To Play Intra-Squad Practice Before Perth Test Behind Closed Doors- Report