It’s only a matter of time before he bounces back: Ricky Ponting dissects Virat Kohli’s form

By: Sports DeskUpdated: July 21, 2022 7:45:51 am

During the latest episode of The ICC review, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting dissected Virat Kohli’s recent slump in form and also predicted his future with the Indian team.

Kohli, who has not scored a century since 2019, has been going through a rough patch for quite some time. But according to Ponting it is only a matter of time before he bounces back.

“I think if I was an opposition captain or an opposition player, I will fear playing an Indian team that has Virat Kohli in it, more than I would be one that doesn’t have him in it. I know there have been some challenges for him, it’s been a difficult time,” said Ponting.

“But every great player that I have seen in this game has been through it at some stage, whether that’s a batsman or a bowler, they have all been through it.

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“And somehow, the best (players) find a way to rebound and respond, and it’s only a matter of time before Virat does that”, former Australian skipper added.

Ponting also explained why he is not in favour of shuffling Kohli’s position in the batting order.

“They probably should be trying to find new ways to get him back into the form and help him out. That (moving him up the order) quite often comes at the expense of someone else as well, you are moving someone else around trying to find a spot for Virat. He has opened the batting, he has batted at No.3 in the IPL in the last couple of years and done the same for India. Moving him around will make him feel that people are worried about him, and he will be more unsettled,” Ponting said.

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“I will be going the other way. If I was the coach of captain, I would be telling him, ‘This is your spot, this is where you’re batting, it’s not going to change. Keep believing in yourself, keep putting in the hard work, keep believing what made you the best player in the world for a number of years – get back to those thoughts and the runs will come’.”

Ponting also said that if the Indian think tank decides to drop Kohli from the T20 World Cup then there might be no way back for the 33-year-old.

“If you leave Virat out of the eve of the World Cup, and someone comes in and has a reasonable tournament, it will be hard for Virat to get back in it,” Ponting stated.

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“If I was India, I will keep pushing with him, because I know the upside. If they actually get him back confident and playing as well as he can, that upside is better than most. So I think if I was a captain or a coach around the Indian set up, I will be making life as easy as possible for him to feel as comfortable as possible, and just wait for him to flick the switch and start scoring runs again,” Ponting concluded.

First published on: 20-07-2022 at 06:22:39 pm Next Story

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