Ricky Ponting wasn’t taken by surprise by Gautam Gambhir‘s attack on him. The Indian head coach had gone after the former Australia captain for his criticism of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form. He’d bluntly said, “What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket”. But Ponting says he isn’t surprised by the comments made by Gambhir.
Ponting’s reply to Gambhir
Most would have expected a harsh rebuttal from Ponting. But the Aussie coach has mellowed down quite a bit since leaving the sport and isn’t ready to pick a fight like he was back in the day. During a chat with 7News, Ponting was asked, “Before the first Test in Perth, will you go and shake hands with the Indian coach (Gambhir)? ‘If he comes my way, yes’,” said Ponting while chuckling.
Gambhir and Ponting have played against and with each other. So, the Aussie knows the Indian head coach on a personal level. “We’ve played a bit against each other. I actually coached him at the Delhi Daredevils. He’s quite a prickly character,” the newly appointed Punjab Kings head coach said.
Not taking a dig at Kohli: Ponting
Ponting, although, wasn’t critical of Kohli. He’d just pointed out that Kohli hasn’t had the best of form in the last couple of years and that the star Indian batter would himself recognise that. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he won’t be a threat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
“In no way was it a dig at him (Kohli). I actually followed it up by saying he’s played well in Australia and he’ll be keen to bounce back over here. If you ask Virat, I’m sure he would be a little bit concerned that he hasn’t been able to make the same amount of hundreds as he has in previous years. So it’s amazing how little things can get cut up, but he’s a class player, and he’s played well in Australia in the past,” Ponting added.
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