Virat Kohli
Ricky Ponting on out-of-form Virat Kohli. Here's what he said
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has backed India's star batsman Virat Kohli, whose recent performance has come under the scanner with some cricket experts questioning his place in the playing eleven.
Though some Indian experts including World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev raised his finger on Kohli's featuring in the team, Ponting has clearly stated he would back Kohli, whose performance over the last 10 years for India has remained spectacular.
Ponting said, "I think if I was an opposition captain or an opposition player, I will be fearing playing an Indian team that has Virat Kohli in it, more than I would be one that doesn't have him in it."
"I know there have been some challenges for him, it's been a difficult time. But every great player that I have seen in this game has been through it at some stage, whether that's a batsman or a bowler, they have all been through it. And somehow, the best find a way to rebound and respond, and it's only a matter of time before Virat does that," he added.
"If I was India, I would keep pushing with him, because I know the upside. If they actually get him back confident and playing as well as he can, that upside is better than most.
"So I think if I was a captain or a coach around the Indian setup, I'd be making life as easy as possible for him to feel as comfortable as possible, and just wait for him to flick the switch and start scoring runs again," an excerpt of his statement reads.
Kohli, who is yet to score a hundred since 2019, has been struggling to score runs for quite some time.
The recent T20I and ODI series were also bereft of big scores for Kohli, who got off to quick starts but failed to cash in.
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