Ricky Ponting has reacted to India coach Gautam Gambhir’s angry retort to him over his remarks on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s form ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test series.
In red-ball cricket, Kohli’s performance has significantly deteriorated in recent years. He had his lowest average in a home game in seven years, scoring just 93 runs at an average of 15.50 in six innings.
It’s important to note that in his last 60 Test innings during the past five years, the right-handed hitter has only scored three hundreds.
After India’s home Test series against New Zealand, in which the Rohit Sharma-led squad was humiliated 0–3, Ricky Ponting questioned Virat Kohli’s form. Ponting said that no other player could have played for so long without being dropped with just two centuries in the past five years.
This led to Gautam Gambhir reacting strongly to Ponting’s remarks on perhaps the best batter India has produced in the modern era, Virat Kohli.
“What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket. More importantly, I have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. They are incredibly tough men. They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket, and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well,” Gambhir said in a presser before India departed for Australia.
Gautam Gambhir is quite a prickly character – Ricky Ponting
Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting reacted to Gautam Gambhir’s remarks on him and called him quite a prickly character. He also talked about the history the two share as players during their time.
Ponting explained that he didn’t mean for his comment to be interpreted as a critique of Kohli. He said that the fact that Kohli hasn’t been hitting as many hundreds recently may worry him.
“I said I would be concerned (about his form). But I think if you ask Virat, I’m sure Virat would be a little bit concerned that he hasn’t been able to make the same amount of hundreds as he has in previous years.
In no way was it a dig at him. I actually followed it up by saying he’s played well in Australia and he’ll be keen to bounce back over here. So, it’s amazing how little things can get cut up, but he’s a class player and he’s played well in Australia in the past.
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 told 7NEWS.
Although Ponting acknowledged that he would shake Gambhir’s hand “if he came my way” during the Test series, he clarified that he doesn’t anticipate it happening.
Also Read: Ricky Ponting Warned For Comments Against Virat Kohli By Former All-rounder Ahead Of BGT 2024-25