“People in India just always try to find a reason not to pick Virat Kohli” : Ricky Ponting says star Indian batter is irreplaceable

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has been left surprised by Indian fans’ attitude towards Virat Kohli. The Indian batter is all set to represent his national side in his sixth T20I World Cup campaign in June. However, there some question marks around his selection, with his strike rate being brought into question.

However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma laughed off such claims, stating that this was not even among the points discussed at the selection meeting. Ricky Ponting has stated that Virat Kohli would be the first name on his team sheet, and his experience and class makes him irreplaceable.

Virat Kohli has been the top run getter in three of the last four ICC T20I World Cup campaigns. “He (Kohli) is the first pick for me for India. So, class and experience like that, you can’t replace. 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,” Ponting said in a conversation with ICC.

Ricky Ponting opines on India’s batting order at the T20I World Cup

Ricky Ponting has opined on Team India’s batting order at the World Cup. He believes that the management has a couple of decisions to make, which involves deciding Virat Kohli’s batting position. Yashasvi Jaiswal has been opening the batting with skipper Rohit Sharma in leadup to the marquee event, however, Ponting believes that Virat Kohli will be promoted to the top of the order.

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

Ricky Ponting also backed Virat Kohli’s ability to deliver in big games, just as he has been doing over the years. He delivered a stunning unbeaten knock of 82 runs against Pakistan at the 2022 T20I World Cup in Australia. The Indian batter is in middle of a terrific IPL campaign, as he is the current owner of the Orange Cap. He has amassed over 700 runs, and looks in solid touch ahead of the T20I World Cup.

India have been drawn in Group A, alongside arch rivals Pakistan. They will open their campaign against Ireland, before facing Pakistan in New York on 9th June.