The Indian cricket team is on the tour to West Indies where it will be playing 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is and it is certainly obvious that the Indian selectors will keep a keen eye on each and every match, especially the T20Is because they have a very important job to do and that is of selecting the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup that is going to take place in Australia, later this year.
Virat Kohli, the senior Indian cricketer, has been rested for the West Indies tour which has irked many former players who want him to play more and more cricket to get back in form. Virat has been going through a lean phase for quite a long time as he hasn’t scored a century in any format since 2019 and his performances in the IPL 2022 as well as on the England tour were highly disappointing. Though the skipper Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid and team management are supporting Virat Kohli, there are some former Indian cricketers who are of the opinion that Virat Kohli should be dropped from the team as there are many in-form young Indian players waiting for their chance to perform for the country and this has led to discussion on Kohli being dropped from the T20 World Cup squad.
While we all know that Virat Kohli is certainly one of the greatest of all times, his prolonged lean phase is making things difficult for him but it is also a fact that he is getting support from all the corners and now the former Aussie cricketer and IPL team Delhi Capitals’ coach Ricky Ponting has also shown his support for Kohli.
During an interview, Ricky Ponting says that the Indian team management should keep on pushing Virat Kohli and wait for the time when he gets his form back. Ponting is of the opinion that if Virat is dropped from the T20 World Cup squad and the one who comes in his place has a reasonable tournament, it may be impossible for Virat to make a comeback. However, Ricky Ponting also states that if he is the skipper of the opposition team, he will be more afraid of an Indian team which has Virat Kohli rather than the one which doesn’t have Virat Kohli.
Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/BlFtAdTM8o
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) July 20, 2022
He has also picked his Indian squad for the World Cup and the biggest surprise is that he has missed out Suryakumar Yadav who is in great form as of now.
The Indian Twitterati didn’t agree with his opinion and this is how people reacted:
https://twitter.com/TheWand68425335/status/1549720446727114753
Ricky ponting clearly doesn't want India to win the WC. T20 has become a 360 degree game. Kohli doesn't fit in anymore
— Venkatanathan ( Modi Ka Parivar) (@venkatanathana) July 20, 2022
SKY easily the best T20 batter right now. Ofc he wants Australia to win.
— Kestrel (@bird_of_dreams) July 20, 2022
Ricky ponting clearly doesn't want India to win the WC. T20 has become a 360 degree game. Kohli doesn't fit in anymore
— Venkatanathan ( Modi Ka Parivar) (@venkatanathana) July 20, 2022
Saw his T20 expertise at DC https://t.co/tdMspcJAn4
— Raghu (@sakaytu_dosth) July 20, 2022
Trying to win World Cup for Australia by excluding/influencing decision on SKY.
— Mind Your Own Money ⚪ (@mindurownmoney) July 20, 2022
Good that he's not the one picking the team
— Kaushik Jegadeesan (@kaushik0803) July 20, 2022
However, the former Aussie legend got some support as well:
Rocky Ponting actually said what Dravid, Rohit and Chetan Sharma wanted to say. Been saying this for a while, the top VII is set, Pant is sure shot and DK is in. Rohit, KL, Virat, Pant, Pandya, Karthik and Jadeja pick themselves. VK's form isn't a concern, especially in Aus. https://t.co/QR4CxgVrVZ
— Pranav Nair (@leg_gully) July 20, 2022
This is an extremely basic take but someone like a Ricky Ponting had to say it out loud because many brainless Indian pundits are actually debating about dropping the world’s greatest batsman from the team. https://t.co/M1jMi9Wfjl
— Siddharth (@DearthOfSid) July 20, 2022
Is Ricky Ponting doing the right thing by keeping SKY out of the Indian squad for T20 World Cup? What are your views in this regard? Let us know.2