'People In India Try To Find A Reason Not To Pick Virat Kohli': Ricky Ponting

people in india try to find a reason not to pick virat kohli ricky ponting

Ricky Ponting has come to the defense of Virat Kohli, suggesting a segment of Indian fans and analysts might be too quick to write off the star batter.

Kohli's recent struggles with form have sparked discussions about his place in the Indian T20 team, particularly with the T20 World Cup approaching. Ponting believes this scrutiny might be a little harsh.

“It's funny with Virat. I think people in India just always try to find a reason not to pick him or a reason why he's maybe not as good as some of these other guys in the T20 game,” he said.

“He (Kohli) is the first pick for me for India.

“He can play his role at the top. And if you've got the right guys around him scoring (like) Suryakumar (Yadav)...Rohit Sharma's going to have a high strike rate. These other guys can go in there and play their way.”

“I remember having this chat and some other chats I did for the ICC about there's some talk about Virat not being in their team only last year, but what happened when the big games come around, he was one of the guys who got the job done,” Ponting noted.

“So class and experience like that, you can't replace.”

Ponting has weighed in on Virat Kohli's role in the upcoming T20 World Cup and said that it is best if Kohli opens the innings. "They (selectors) have still got a decision to make because (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is in that squad and one thing they haven't got a lot in their team is left-hand batters,” Ponting noted.

“So they've got a decision to make with Jaiswal, but I'm pretty sure that they'll go with Kohli and Rohit Sharma (as openers).”

However, Ponting's comments will spark an interesting debate about whether there is a tendency in India to be overly critical of Kohli. It will be interesting to see how Kohli can adapt his game to the demands of modern T20 cricket.