Ponting backs 'rotation policy'

In the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, Australia, like India, have also adopted the ‘rotation policy’. Michael Clarke, David Warner, and Wade have been rotated, but that idea has backfired for the Aussies as they lost couple of matches on the trot against Sri Lanka.

Australia are undergoing a transition period like India, and that’s why they are struggling to find proper playing XI. Their top three batsmen haven’t been in fine knick, which ultimately makes life difficult for the inexperienced middle order.

However, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting believes that it’s impossible for a player to negotiate without a break.

The rotational thing… I’m totally for it,” Ponting told Inside Cricket. “The thing we have to understand is that the people who are making these decisions are making them for the right reasons, and they’re making them for the betterment they think of the team and the betterment of individual players there and then at the time.”

“I made some decisions in my career, to retire from T20 cricket when I did, to be as fresh as I could be for every one-day game and every Test match I played. Some of the guys, or most of the guys, in this current team are playing all three forms of the game and IPL and Champions League. They’re playing a lot of cricket. So I can understand why the public would at some times be disappointed that our best players aren’t playing every game, but I really think it is impossible to expect that our best players do play every game.”

Ponting also cited the example of a league football with Club Cricket, where T20 Cricket fill up the summer-season and many players use this as a chance for making a come-back.

“If you look at Manchester United or the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan probably didn’t start in every game the Chicago Bulls played, and Wayne Rooney and those guys don’t start, certainly don’t play every game Manchester United play,” Ponting said.

“But I think an educational process should be put in place to let the sponsors, the people who are covering the game and the fans understand what’s actually going to happen before the day the team is announced.”

He also said that these days it’s all about the athlete and what Australian Cricket team is trying to get best out of each of our players. Ponting also thinks that this is the right time to give youngsters a chance ahead of Ashes in England.

“I know there’ll be arguments at the moment suggesting that what we’re doing is not working or we should go back to the way it was 10 or 15 years ago. But I’ve been around and seen it all and I think the track we’re on is definitely the right one.”

“We need to be giving every young player the best chance to be everything they can be and hopefully on Wednesday, you’ll see the boys bounce back; and when we get to India, you’ll see them play some great cricket there, and it’d be great to see the Test team win the Ashes back as well. If they do that, then a lot of the critics, a lot of the things being talked about around Australian cricket at the moment, will be silenced.”