"What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket?" - Gautam Gambhir slams former Australian captain for his criticism of Virat Kohli
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir blasted former Australian captain Ricky Ponting for criticizing ace batter Virat Kohli. Ponting recently commented on Kohli's poor form by saying that no other cricketer would have lasted as long without being dropped with only two centuries in the last five years.
While Kohli has remained largely consistent in the white-ball formats, his Test form has taken a massive hit over the last several years. The 36-year-old has averaged under 30 in all but one of his previous five Test seasons.
When asked about Ponting's remarks on Kohli's sub-par form in the final press conference before leaving for Australia, Gambhir said:
"What does Ponting to has to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket and more importantly 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 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," he added.
Kohli has struggled massively in Tests this year with an average of under 23 and a lone half-century in six outings.
"The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me" - Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir maintained that the players' hunger to produce results is extremely high after the recent New Zealand series loss.
Team India suffered a shocking 0-3 home Test series whitewash to the Kiwis in Gambhir's second Test assignment as head coach.
"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," said Gambhir.
Apart from being India's first home Test series loss in over a decade, the result also pushed India to the brink in the latest World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
Rohit Sharma's team will now have to defeat Australia down under by a 4-0 or better margin to have the WTC final qualification in their own hands.
The first of five Tests against Australia will be played in Perth, starting November 22.