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“I will be fearing playing an Indian team that has Virat Kohli in it”: Ricky Ponting reckons Virat Kohli still instills fear in the opposition as questions regarding his place in India T20 World Cup squad intensify

Gurpreet Singh
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"I will be fearing playing an Indian team that has Virat Kohli in it": Ricky Ponting reckons Virat Kohli still instills fear in the opposition as questions regarding his place in India T20 World Cup squad intensify

Ricky Ponting reckons Virat Kohli still has it in him to hit his form back, despite a prolonged patch of poor form in international cricket.

A rare off-season for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL this year, perhaps acted as the one bad omen that has prevented Virat Kohli from returning back to his dominating batting form which the cricketing fraternity has been used to for so many years now.

While the lean patch of form continued, the 33-year-old also lost his team India captaincy from the ODI and the Test format as well during this phase.

The prolonged slump in form has meant that fans and former cricketers like Kapil Dev, Venkatesh Prasad, and Virender Sehwag have explicitly or otherwise questioned his place in the team, and the 2021 T20 World Cup squad in particular.

However, the champion batter has also found allies in Usman Khawaja, Kevin Pietersen, Shoaib Akhtar and now former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting as well.

Ricky Ponting reckons Virat Kohli still instills fear in the opposition

Voicing his opinions on Kohli’s recent form in the ICC Review Show on Wednesday, Australian legendary batter Ricky Ponting has back the former to come good in the lead up to the imminent ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

As per Ponting, Kohli still instills fear in the opposition camp, and he would be fearing a team that has Virat Kohli in it, as opposed to the one that doesn’t.

“I think if I was an opposition captain or an opposition player, I will be fearing playing an Indian team that has Virat Kohli in it, more than I would be one that doesn’t have him in it. I know there have been some challenges for him, it’s been a difficult time. But every great player that I have seen in this game has been through it at some stage, whether that’s a batsman or a bowler, they have all been through it. And somehow, the best (players) find a way to rebound and respond, and it’s only a matter of time before Virat does that,” Ponting said on The ICC Review Show.

Ponting further added that he should be batting at his usual no.3 spot in the order, and is against the idea of pushing him up the order, as the move would not only make him more unsettled, but would also ‘make him feel that people are worried about him’.

About the author

Gurpreet Singh

Gurpreet Singh

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Gurpreet Singh is a Cricket writer at The Sportsrush. His platonic relationship with sports had always been there since childhood, but Cricket managed to strike a special, intimate nerve of his heart. Although his initial dream of playing the sport at the highest level couldn't come to fruition, Gurpreet did represent the state of Jharkhand at the under-14 level. However, almost like taking a pledge to never let the undying passion for Cricket fade away even a tad, he made sure to continue the love relationship by assigning the field of journalism as an indirect Cupid. He thus, first finished his bachelor's in journalism and then pursued the PG Diploma course in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Soon after and since 2019, he has been working at The Sportsrush. Apart from sports, he takes keen interest in politics, and in understanding women and gender-related issues.

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