Gautam Gambhir hit back at Ricky Ponting for his comment on Virat Kohli’s form. Be it Kohli or skipper Rohit Sharma, the 43-year-old admitted that he is not concerned about their form at all.
Kohli has got only two Test hundreds since the start of 2020. That is a stat that raised concerns for Ponting and he questioned Kohli’s form. He believes that if it was anyone else, that player would not be playing Test cricket. In fact, Kohli averages only 31.68 in this period with two hundreds and nine fifties.
“I saw a stat the other day about Virat. It said he’s only scored two (three) Test hundreds in the last five years. That didn’t seem right to me, but if that is right, then that is, I mean, that’s a concern. There wouldn’t be anyone else probably even playing international cricket as a top-order batsman that’s only scored two Test match hundreds in five years,” Ponting was quoted saying on ICC Review last week.
That irked Gambhir when he was quizzed about Ponting’s comment and the form of Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma. The current Indian head coach was fuming and backed his senior pros to come good in the upcoming series. He wants Ponting to focus on Australian cricket rather than worrying about India.
“What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket and more importantly have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think 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,” Gautam Gambhir was quoted saying in the India’s pre-departure press conference.
Gambhir sees hunger in Kohli, Rohit
Gambhir highlighted the fact that both Rohit and Kohli are working incredibly hard and have quite a bit to achieve. He sees the hunger in them which is very important for him.
“I think for me, the most important thing is that they still work really hard and they still passionate, they still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important. The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me. And for the entire group of people in that dressing room. And I feel there is a lot of hunger and especially after what has happened in the last series,” Gambhir added.
India recently lost 0-3 to New Zealand which has put their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final in jeopardy. They need to win four games in the upcoming Test series against Australia to ensure they finish in the top two. The much-hyped Border-Gavaskar Trophy is set to kickstart on the 22nd of November in Perth.
