‘Gautam Gambhir will hear worse things if…’: Ricky Ponting’s ‘frosty’ remark in firing fresh salvo at India head coach

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting fired a fresh salvo at India head coach Gautam Gambhir over the old Virat Kohli remark, saying that the former India opener might encounter worse remarks if the visitors incur a poor Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia.

Earlier this month, speaking on The ICC Review, Ponting expressed concerns over Kohli’s form in the last four years, highlighting that the 36-year-old managed only two centuries in 60 Test innings during the run. When Gambhir was made aware of the remark during India’s pre-departure press conference in Mumbai, he took a blunt swipe at the Aussie, asking him to stay away from Indian cricket and focus on the Australian team.

Ponting did clarify his remark later as he called Gambhir a “prickly character.” However, on Thursday, speaking to Channel 7 Cricket, the Australia legend warned Gambhir that he might get to hear worse statements on the Indian team or the players, if the side performs poorly in the five-Test series against Australia.

“Yeah, yeah, I do. Yeah, I don’t hold a grudge or anything like that. It’ll be up to him. If he holds a grudge from what I had to say there, then I’m sure he’s probably heard worse things in the past. He’ll probably hear some worse things as the summer goes on, especially if his team doesn’t win. So look, I’ve got no issue with him. And well, I think we’re probably guaranteed to bump into each other Friday morning, and we’ll see how frosty or not it might be. Yeah, well, I look forward to that as well,” Ponting said.

Ponting backs Kohli to perform in Australia series

Kohli came under fire following a forgettable series against New Zealand at home, where India had incurred an unprecedented whitewash. He scored just 93 runs in three matches, at 15.50, his worst average in a home series in the last seven years.

However, Ponting backed Kohli to bounce back in the series against Australia and said that he is rather looking forward to watching former India captain bat.

I think the reaction from Gambhir was what probably surprised everybody, surprised a lot of people in India as well, to the point where they were questioning if he should be sitting in press conferences, answering some of the questions. So look, I’m looking forward to seeing Virat again. He’s a star. He’s one of the all-time greats. And who knows, it might be his series again,” the former Australia captain added.