Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has discovered himself on the heart of a heated trade with India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir. This back-and-forth comes within the lead-up to the extremely anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, set to start on November 22 in Perth.
The Gautam Gambhir-Ricky Ponting Controversy
Ponting not too long ago expressed concern over Virat Kohli‘s batting efficiency, noting that the star batsman has struggled to attain centuries lately. In a podcast, he highlighted that Kohli has solely managed three Check centuries during the last 5 years.
He urged that if some other top-order batsman had such a document, they’d possible have been dropped from their nationwide crew. Ponting acknowledged, “There wouldn’t be anybody else in all probability even enjoying worldwide cricket as a top-order batsman” with such statistics.
These feedback prompted a pointy response from Gambhir throughout a press convention in Mumbai on November 11. He questioned Ponting’s relevance to Indian cricket, saying, “What does Ponting need to do with Indian cricket? I feel he ought to take into consideration Australian cricket.” Gambhir defended Kohli and Rohit Sharma, asserting their resilience and previous achievements.
Ponting’s Reply to Gautam Gambhir
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In response to Gambhir’s remarks, Ponting mirrored on their historical past collectively, having coached Gambhir on the Delhi Daredevils within the IPL. He described Gambhir as a “prickly character” and admitted that he was not shocked by the backlash.
“We have got a little bit of historical past as effectively enjoying towards one another. I’ve really coached him at Delhi Daredevils. He is fairly a prickly character so I am not shocked it was him who stated one thing again,” Ponting remarked throughout an interview with 7News.
Ponting clarified that his feedback weren’t meant as an assault on Kohli. He emphasised that he believes Kohli is a “class participant” who has carried out effectively in Australia beforehand. “By no means was it a dig at him (Kohli). I really adopted it up by saying he is performed effectively in Australia and he’ll be eager to bounce again over right here… For those who ask Virat, I’m certain he can be just a little bit involved that he hasn’t been capable of make the identical quantity of a whole lot as he has in earlier years,” he defined.
Kohli’s Efficiency Forward of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Because the Border-Gavaskar Trophy approaches, Kohli’s latest kind raises questions. In 2024, he has struggled considerably, averaging beneath 25 in Exams and accumulating solely two fifties all year long. His efficiency throughout India’s latest house collection towards New Zealand was significantly disappointing; he scored simply 93 runs throughout six innings, averaging 15.50.
Kohli at the moment stands because the joint seventh-highest run-scorer in Border-Gavaskar Trophy historical past, with 2,042 runs from 25 Exams at a median of 47.48, together with eight centuries and 5 fifties. He trails behind Ponting, who holds second place with 2,555 runs from 29 Exams at a median of 54.36, together with eight centuries and 12 half-centuries. As Kohli prepares for this significant collection, he’ll goal to enhance his kind and doubtlessly surpass Ponting’s document.
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