“Don’t believe you shouldn’t try to get under his skin,” says Ponting on dismissing Kohli

Ponting on dismissing Kohli: Former Australian captain has given several advises to Australian players on dismissing the Indian captain.

Just when there were incessant talks about Australia finding desperate ways to counter India captain Virat Kohli in the imminent Test series starting from December 6 at Adelaide, a new episode of the same series featuring former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has released.

Given the manner in which some current and former Australian cricketers have opined with respect to getting Kohli out, it is literally unheard of for a team to specifically concentrate one one single player.

During an interview with cricket.com.au, Ponting puts forward his take on how to put a halt to Kohli’s inhuman form. “The first thing I’d be doing is going back and looking at how anyone has stopped him in the past,” Ponting said.

“Who has had the most success against Virat Kohli and why? The first one that comes to mind is someone like a James Anderson, who’s probably had the most success against him. From what I’ve watched over the years, he seems to trouble him the most,” he further said.

Ponting warned the home team regarding the swing of the ball and how the lack of it will make things ‘hard’ for them. “If the ball is not moving, he’s going to be really hard to get out. With someone like him who likes to score freely, he’s obviously got a big ego but there’s other things you can do.

“You can put a few fielders out [on the boundary] early on, don’t let him get any boundaries. Maybe don’t go as aggressive at him early on. Try to bowl lots of tight, consistent stuff,” the 43-year old added.

ALSO READ: Jason Gillespie’s suggestion to Australian bowlers to get Virat Kohli out cheaply.

Talking specifically about field placings, Ponting suggested Australia to stop Kohli playing the dab towards the third-man. “He likes to run the ball down to third man a lot as well, so maybe just play around with some guys in different areas which might just get inside his head as to what we’re trying to do. Bring your third [slip] or your floating slip up a little tighter because he tends to play with soft hands and run the ball down there,” he suggested.

Apart from the cricketing side of things, there have been plentiful opinions regarding whether Kohli should be touted with verbals or not. While many former cricketers have warned Australia regarding the same, the aggressive captain in Ponting doesn’t find it that harmful.

“I don’t necessarily believe that you shouldn’t try to get under his skin. Mitchell Johnson definitely rattled him a few times with some good, hostile bowling and some good, hostile body language around him.

“We shouldn’t sit back and let anyone bully the way we go about playing our cricket, especially at home. They’re in our backyard. You’ve got to use your actions and your skills and if they do that, then they can definitely unsettle him,” Ponting further added.

Read some of the latest Twitter reactions on Kohli below: