If I was India, I would keep pushing with him because I know the upside – Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli’s form

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has shed light on the poor form of Virat Kohli. A lot of cricket experts like Kapil Dev had recently said that Kohli should be dropped but Ponting wants the Indian selectors to persist with the talisman batsman for the T20 World Cup.

Kohli hasn’t been in the best of forms in the recent past and he has been struggling to convert his starts into substantial scores. The right-hander had a ho-hum tour of England as he could not deliver the goods for the team in the rescheduled Test and the limited-overs leg.

Ponting believes every player goes through a rough patch in his career and Kohli is also going through the same. However, Ponting has put his weight behind Virat Kohli and feels it is a matter of time before the right-hander will get back to his best. Ponting said if he was the opposition captain, he will be fearing an Indian team that has Virat Kohli.

“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,” Ponting said. “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 find a way to rebound and respond, and it’s only a matter of time before Virat does that.”

Former Australia skipper, who led the team to two World Cup titles during his stint as captain, added that it would be difficult for Kohli to get back into the team after he is dropped from the World Cup squad if the player who replaces him has a reasonable tournament.

“The other thing you risk as well is, if you leave Virat out on the eve of a T20 World Cup, and someone comes in and has a reasonable tournament, it will be hard for Virat to get back in it,” Ponting said. “If I was India, I would keep pushing with him, because I know the upside. If they actually get him back confident and playing as well as he can, that upside is better than most. So I think if I was a captain or a coach around the Indian setup, I’d be making life as easy as possible for him to feel as comfortable as possible, and just wait for him to flick the switch and start scoring runs again.”

Kohli has been rested for the West Indies tour and he would be determined to make a solid comeback before the T20 World Cup. The experienced batter is a vital cog for the Indian team as he has been a consistent performer over the years.