Ricky Ponting says to not judge Virat Kohli on current form ahead of BGT: ‘If there’s a time for him to turn it around, it’d be this series’ | Cricket News
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting is of the opinion that no one should judge Virat Kohli on his current form with the Indian stalwart capable of making a major statement in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Kohli has had a horrid time in the last series against New Zealand where he scored just 93 runs in 6 innings at an average of 15.50 as India went down 0-3 in their home soil against the Kiwis.
“I’ve said it before about Virat — you don’t ever question the greats of the game. There’s no doubt he’s a great of the game. He loves playing against Australia. In fact, I know he loves playing against Australia. And his record (in Australia) is very good. If there’s a time for him to turn it around, it’d be this series. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Virat make runs in the first game,” Ponting said to ICC.
Since the beginning of this year, Kohli has averaged just 22.72 in six Tests — the lowest in the format for him in a year since his debut in 2011 which also saw him slip in the ICC Test rankings, moving out of the top-20 l for the first time in 10 years.
“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 said.
