"For A Big Match...": Sunil Gavaskar's Counter To Ricky Ponting's "Australia Will Be Favourites" Claim

08.06.2023 - 03:25 sports.ndtv.com

Ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia, several experts, including former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, had suggested that the Pat Cummins-led side are favourites to win the summit clash.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and Pakistan legend Wasim Akram had also echoed Ponting's sentiments. To further back his claims, Ponting had suggested that the Indian players will be tired after a hectic IPL 2023 season, adding that the Australians will head into the fixture with a fresh mindset.

However, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar doesn't feel that Australians resting ahead of the WTC Final would not give them any advantage.

Gavaskar, instead, gave the edge to India and pointed out the need for match practice, irrespective of the format, ahead of big matches. "I will give the edge to India.

cricket Australia Cricket Team Pat Cummins Ricky Ponting Ravi Shastri Sunil Gavaskar Australia London India Pakistan

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the selectors over the appointment of Ajinkya Rahane as vice-captain of the Test team for the upcoming tour of West Indies. The BCCI announced Team India's squads for the Test and ODI series against the West Indies, starting next month. While Rohit Sharma will lead the team in both formats, Rahane's appointment as vice-captain has raised several eyebrows. Rahane was recalled to the side for the WTC Final against Australia, and was India's top performer with the bat in the match.

"He's Over Complicating Things...": Ricky Ponting's Advice For Australia Batter Ahead Of 2nd Ashes Test

Former captain Ricky Ponting has offered technical advice to Australia batters Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head to counter England's bowling attack ahead of the second Ashes Test starting Wednesday at the Lord's. Australia won the opening Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham by two wickets in what was the first match of the new ICC World Test Championship cycle. There were a number of impressive individual performances, but Labuschagne and Head struggled in the Ashes opener.

"Why Has He Been Made Scapegoat...": Sunil Gavaskar On Cheteshwar Pujara's Test Exclusion

Legendary Indian cricket team opener Sunil Gavaskar was not happy with the decision to drop Cheteshwar Pujara for the upcoming Test series against West indies. Pujara had a disappointing run of form in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final where India were completely outplayed by Australia at the Oval. Gavaskar was not convinced with the decision to drop Pujara and said that he should not be made a 'scapegoat' after most Indian batters failed to perform against Australia. The legend added that Pujara knows what to do in red-ball cricket and can continue to play for a few more years.

Ricky Ponting says he turned down the England Test cricket head coach job before Brendon McCullum was appointed

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says he was offered the job as England’s Test cricket head coach before Brendon McCullum took on the role. McCullum, alongside captain Ben Stokes, has helped England adopt an aggressive style of play which has come to be known as ‘Bazball’. Ad Despite an impressive start to their leadership — which saw them win 11 of their first 13 matches in charge — McCullum and Stokes have work to do after going 1-0 down in the Ashes series with a two-wicket defeat in the opening Test at Edgbaston.

'Was Approached By England Before Brendon McCullum': Ricky Ponting Makes Shocking Revelation

Australia's World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting has revealed that he was approached for the England Test coaching role before Brendon McCullum took over last year. After an embarrassing 0-4 Ashes defeat Down Under, the England men's team set up went through a massive overhaul with McCullum and Matthew Mott replacing Chris Silverwood as the Test and white-ball coaches respectively. Test skipper Joe Root also stepped down from captaincy while batting mentor Graham Thorpe and managing director Ashley Giles also lost their jobs.

"Even Brought My Name Into...": Ricky Ponting Fumes At England Star's Trash Talk

England pacer Ollie Robinson has courted plenty of attention for his antics in the first Ashes Test. His duels with Usman Khawaja were well noted by the cricketing fraternity and the pacer was even asked about the same in the press conference. After Robinson cited the examples of Ricky Ponting and other former Australian cricketers over the Khawaja sledging episode, the former Aussie skipper has given a sharp retort, calling English pacer a 'slow learner' while questioning his bowling too.