Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, Sept 5: Virat Kohli will face stiff competition from his peers in international cricket and whoever out of them ‘masters the mind’ best will end up having a better career, stated Australian great Ricky Ponting here Monday.
Brett Lee had recently said Kohli is best in the business currently, ignoring the likes of Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. His longtime captain Ponting, however, said that it is still not time to settle the ‘best batsman’ debate.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t really care (who is the best batsmen at the moment). I just love to see all these guys playing (Kohli, Smith, Williamson and Root). There are a number of current players who are probably on a similar career path,” said Ponting on the sidelines of a promotional event here.
“Kohli probably has got age on his side. His ODI career till this stage has been incredible. We also know what he did in last year’s IPL (hitting four hundreds). He is an ultra-skilled and talented player. More importantly, he has got the attitude to want to be the best he can be and wants to lead his country in the best way possible.
“Smith and Williamson are in the same boat. Whoever I guess, masters the mind games the best will be the one who ends up with the best career record,” added the two-time World Cup winning captain.
Ponting however, refused to go into a comparison between Sachin Tendulkar and Kohli. “I would say let’s wait till Virat finishes his career. He is still very young. He could have a bad injury tomorrow and not play another game and then probably there will be no comparison with Sachin having played 200 Tests. So it’s better to wait and watch,” pointed out Ponting.
Ponting also welcomed Anil Kumble’s appointment as the head coach of the Indian team. “Anil’s appointment has been a good one for Indian cricket. He has been one of the stalwarts of the game. He has obviously had great success both as player and captain and it will help India in the long run,” stated Ponting.
