Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of the Indian cricket team, has reacted to the comments made by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting regarding Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The Australian batsman had some stern words for the pair after the Test series loss of India against New Zealand in the latter’s homeland. Afterward, Ponting voiced concerns that Kohli was out of form – something that did not sit well with Gambhir who warned him to focus on cricket back in Australia. On this very topic, commenting during the event coverage on FOX Sports, Mike Hussey, an ex-Australia cricketer was of the opinion that the first Test match between India and Australia will be useful in determining who is right but went on to add that it is foolish to write off such class batting talent as Rohit or Virat though they might not be at their best.
“We will find out in the first Test match where they are at, mentally and from a skill perspective as well. They will be hurt by this, India. They have got a lot of crowd pullers and quality. We just heard from Gambhir talking about Rohit and Kohli not making runs. The silliest thing you can do is to write off champion players. We have seen it so many times in the past – they come under criticism, but they come out and perform really well. So I’m backing them to perform well in Australia. They are proud Indians and proud Test players. But I still feel Australia will start favourites,” he said.
Gambhir fired a shot back at Ricky Ponting for questioning Virat Kohli’s form and place in Indian team, saying the Australian legend should only be concerned about cricket in his country.
“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,” Gambhir said during an interaction with media before leaving for Australia.
Download the CricInformer app
Take CricInformer with you. Get our app for cricket news and updates on your phone.