India head coach Gautam Gambhir arrived in the pre-Australia tour press conference with fire in his heart. Grilled by the reporters over the team’s 0-3 loss against New Zealand at home and the preparedness for the Australia series, Gambhir had to face some tough questions on Monday. When informed of the comments Australia great Ricky Ponting made on Virat Kohli‘s form, especially the fact that the latter has scored just two hundreds in the last 5 years of his Test career, Gambhir took a fiery stance, shutting down the remarks.
“What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket and more importantly have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men. They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well,” said Gambhir in press conference.
Gambhir reaffirmed his belief in both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, saying they continue to work hard in the nets and their game, which is the most important thing for him. While recent results might not paint a particularly rosy picture, Gambhir still has faith on the veteran duo, especially because of the hunger they have shown.
“I think for me, the most important thing is that they still work really hard and they still passionate, they still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important. The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me. And for the entire group of people as well in that dressing in dressing rooms. And I feel there is a lot of hunger and especially after what has happened in the last series,” Gambhir told the media.
Earlier, Ponting had said that he doesn’t think any other top-order batter would’ve survived in a top international team had he scored just 2-3 centuries in the last 5 years.
“I saw a stat the other day about Virat, it said he’s only scored two (three) Test hundreds in the last five years. That didn’t seem right to me, but if that is right, then that is, I mean, that’s a concern,” Ponting had said in ICC Review.
“There wouldn’t be anyone else probably even playing international cricket as a top-order batsman that’s only scored two Test match hundreds in five years,” he added.
