Former Indian cricketer and current head coach of the Indian cricket team, Gautam Gambhir slammed Ricky Ponting ahead of the much-awaited Australia tour in a press-conference. After suffering a 0-3 defeat at the hands of New Zealand at home, Gautam Gambhir was welcomed with some tough questions from the reporters at the press-conference on Monday. Gambhir was also asked about team’s preparedness for the upcoming Australia series.
Ricky Ponting Questioned Virat Kohli’s Form
During the press conference, Gautam Gambhir was informed about the recent comments made by the Australian legend Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli’s form. For the unversed, Ricky Ponting had stressed on the fact that Virat Kohli has scored only two hundreds in the last five years of his Test career.
Ponting mentioned that he doesn’t believe any other top-order batter would still be on a top international team if they had only scored 2 or 3 centuries in the last 5 years. Ponting had said:
“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,” Ponting had said in ICC Review.
“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,” he added.
Gautam Gambhir Responds to Ponting’s Criticism
Shutting down the criticism from Ricky Ponting, Gautam Gambhir took a fiery stand for Virat Kohli. He said:
“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,” said Gambhir in press conference.
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Gambhir expressed his confidence in both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, saying that they keep putting in hard work during practice and improving their game, which he values most. Although recent results haven’t been great, Gambhir still believes in the experienced players because of their strong desire to succeed.
“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 as well in that dressing in dressing rooms. And I feel there is a lot of hunger and especially after what has happened in the last series,” Gambhir told the media.
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