Never write champions off: Ponting on Kohli’s form

Brut India

Virat Kohli’s form, Rishabh Pant’s omission, Rohit Sharma’s leadership… this is what former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said about India’s chances at the T20 World Cup.  ️ #T20WorldCup

Transcript

00:00You know, India probably haven't been at their best yet.

00:02Virat's been very, very good in a couple of games.

00:04Now the leading run scorer in the history of T20 World Cup cricket.

00:08India are a bit like Australia coming in.

00:09It didn't seem like they really knew what their best team was.

00:11One thing I know about Rishabh Pant, he's a match winner.

00:14And we've seen it here in Australia before.

00:16Ricky, you spoke about Virat Kohli's inning sevens, Pakistan, just before the World Cup.

00:34In fact, for the last one and a half year, there was criticism, especially in India about Virat.

00:39Yeah, look, I've been on record for the last few months, you know,

00:41talking about how important I felt it was that India did stick with Virat.

00:45Coming into a big tournament like this, when you come into big events like this,

00:49you need your experienced star players.

00:52They're playing well and standing up in big moments if you're going to win.

00:54First hand with the first game against Pakistan, you know, I doubt if there was another player

00:58in that side that could have got them over the line at the end.

01:00You know, the T20 game, I think, is a game for the older, smarter sort of minds.

01:06The people that have been there and done it all before and experienced it all before.

01:09And probably no one in Indian cricket has experienced more success than Virat Kohli.

01:14You know, as slim as the chances were the other night, you know, as I said,

01:16I was sitting at home on the couch watching with eight balls to go with him on strike.

01:20I still had this feeling that he was just going to pull something out of the hat.

01:23And he did.

01:24And quite often, you know, a little moment like that can have a really big impact on a team

01:28right the way through the tournament.

01:30You know, India probably haven't been at their best yet.

01:32Virat's been very, very good in a couple of games.

01:35Now the leading run scorer in the history of T20 World Cup cricket.

01:38And I think if India are to go on and progress and actually win,

01:41they need Virat there and they need him playing well.

01:47Yeah, I'm surprised he's not playing.

01:49Because one, I think he's a match winner.

01:51And two, he's that, as you said, that left-hander that they might need at

01:53different times through their middle order.

01:55But, you know, reading some of the quotes from Akshay Patel the other day,

01:58they're backing his batting in.

01:59If they need a left-hander in the middle,

02:00they're going to use him to go up and play that sort of role.

02:05And obviously playing the two spinners means it's hard for Rishabh to get into the side.

02:08But, you know, I don't think India are a bit like Australia coming in.

02:13It didn't seem like they really knew what their best team was

02:14and what the right balance was coming here.

02:16Maybe that was because of the conditions.

02:17They weren't sure what they're going to get.

02:18But one thing I know about Rishabh Pant, he's a match winner.

02:23And we've seen it here in Australia before in test cricket and in white ball cricket.

02:27But who knows, if they do make it through,

02:29they might think about playing someone like him in one of the bigger games at the back end.

02:32How do you reckon Roy Sharma's batting form and his leadership in this team?

02:36The thing I always say, same thing I said about Virat,

02:39is you never write champion players off.

02:40Roy Sharma's been a champion player for India for a long time.

02:44And when the bigger games come around, generally the bigger players stand up.

02:47So I'll never say a negative word about him.

02:50I've coached him, I've worked with him a lot and I'm quite good friends with him.

02:54And for his sake and India's sake, I'd love to see him do well in the back half.

Category

Transcript

Recommended