Ricky Ponting backs Virat Kohli to regain his form in Champions Trophy
What’s the story?
Legendary Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has backed Virat Kohli to come out of the tricky phase and regain his form when the Champions Trophy begins. The 42-year old also shared his insight into the current batting predicament that the Indian captain is finding himself in.
“It's hard to maintain the levels that he's maintained over the past 12 or 18 months across all three forms of the game. At some stage, it's going to catch up and you'll get a little bit mentally fatigued and a little bit off. The other thing maybe to think about with Virat is the last few months of his life, he's probably been under more pressure than at any other time in his career”, Ponting told cricket.com.au.
The veteran added, “It's just a good challenge for him of where he's at in his career. He's in a little bit of a flat spot but everyone goes through that, and he's well and truly good enough to find his way through the other side. They're (India) a very good one-day outfit, but they're going to need their best players playing well if they're going to win the Champions Trophy.”
The Context
Kohli’s below par run of form began in the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy wherein the Australian players managed to get under his skin. Even though India won the series 2-1, the skipper could only manage 46 runs from 3 matches at a woeful average of 9.20.
The heart of the matter
Upon missing the first few matches of this IPL season, Kohli returned to action after recuperating from his shoulder injury. However, the star batsman was not at his usual self and looked out of touch in the popular Twenty20 tournament. As a consequence, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have finished at the bottom of the points table.
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Ponting felt that the volatile Test series against Australia had taken a lot out of the extremely vocal cricketer. Reiterating that the pressure factor associated with being an Indian captain would invariably get to every player, he endorsed Kohli's fighting character to flourish in the demanding role.
Dismissing notions pertaining to his Test record on English soil, he backed the right-hander to get into the groove during the upcoming 50-overs tournament.
What’s next?
India begin their campaign in the 2017 Champions Trophy with a high-octane clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston on June 4. They then take on Sri Lanka at The Oval on the 8th and South Africa also at the same venue on the 11th.
Author’s Take
With the white-ball unlikely to swing prodigiously in England and the pitches expected to be quite batting-friendly, Kohli should enjoy batting in the tournament. Needless to say, he will be motivated to lead from the front in his maiden ICC event as captain.