Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir took a jibe at Australia great Ricky Ponting over his criticism of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Ponting was critical of the duo following India’s Test series defeat against New Zealand at home. Ponting went on to say that Kohli’s form was a concern – a comment that did not go down well with Gambhir who asked him to turn his attention to Australian cricket. While reacting on the entire incident on FOX Sports, former Australia cricketer Mike Hussey said that the first Test between India and Australia will show who is correct in their assessment but added that it is not wise to underestimate talented batters like Rohit and Virat even if they are not in the best of forms.
“We will find out in the first Test match where they are at, mentally and from a skill perspective as well. They will be hurt by this, India. They have got a lot of crowd pullers and quality. We just heard from Gambhir talking about Rohit and Kohli not making runs. The silliest thing you can do is to write off champion players. We have seen it so many times in the past – they come under criticism, but they come out and perform really well. So I’m backing them to perform well in Australia. They are proud Indians and proud Test players. But I still feel Australia will start favourites,” he said.
Gambhir fired a shot back at Ricky Ponting for questioning Virat Kohli’s form and place in Indian team, saying the Australian legend should only be concerned about cricket in his country.
“What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket. More importantly, I have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit,” Gambhir said during an interaction with media before leaving for Australia.
(With IANS inputs)