 "Gautam Gambhir slams Ricky Ponting over Virat Kohli comment: 'What does he have to do with Indian cricket?'")
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has hit out at Ricky Ponting while defending star batter Virat Kohli ahead of the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The former Australia captain and batting great Ponting had recently remarked that barring Kohli no other batter would have survived in a national team despite scoring just two Test hundred in five years.
When Gambhir was asked about Ponting’s comments during the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Monday, the former opener hit out at the Australia cricket expert, saying Ponting’s comments on Indian cricket should not matter.
Also Read | Gambhir refuses to give clarity on Rohit's presence for Perth Test
“What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket,” Gambhir said. “More importantly I 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.
“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.”
What Ponting said about Kohli?
“I saw a stat the other day about Virat, it said he has only scored two (three) Test hundreds in the last five years. That did not seem right to me, but if that is right, then that is, I mean, that is a concern,” Ponting told ICC. “There would not be anyone else probably even playing international cricket as a top-order batsman that has only scored two Test match hundreds in five years.”
Gambhir speaks on Test series loss to New Zealand
Gambhir also accepted the criticism the team has received after the 3-0 loss at home to New Zealand and said that they “were outplayed in the series in all three departments. New Zealand were more professional”.
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