"Sounded Like He Found Himself In Quite A Dark Place": Ricky Ponting On Virat Kohli

01.09.2022 - 09:31 sports.ndtv.com

Virat Kohli took a break from international cricket before returning to the Indian side for the Asia Cup 2022. He was rested for the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe and the former India captain utilised the time to relax and shift his focus from cricket.

Kohli has been struggling for runs in 2022 and the break must have helped him as he played a vital knock of 35 runs and finished as the joint-top scorer for India in the pressure match against Pakistan on Sunday and continued the uptick in his form with an unbeaten knock of 59 against Hong Kong.

In an interview to Star Sports, before the start of the tournament, Kohli had opened up about his mental health struggles and why he needed the break.

Now, former Australia captain and batting legend Ricky Ponting has opened up on the issue and has said that he hopes Kohli would be back among runs during the ICC T20 World Cup later this year in Australia. "When I saw his runs and then I've read on social media over the last few days, it sounded like he found himself in quite a dark place.

cricket 2022 on Ricky Ponting Virat Kohli Star Sports Australia Zimbabwe India Hong Kong Pakistan Hong Kong

Star India batter Virat Kohli, who ended his two-and-a-half-year century drought in the Asia Cup 2022, had a memorable run in the entire tournament. Kohli ended his campaign with a total of 276 runs to his name, the second highest in the tournament. Kohli is now eyeing a good performance against Australia in the home series and yet another milestone in his career. He is just 207 runs away from surpassing India head coach Rahul Dravid to become the second highest run-getter across all formats for India. When achieves the mark he will also become the sixth-highest run-scorer in international cricket.

"If You Would Have Asked Three Years Ago...": Ricky Ponting On Whether Virat Kohli Can Surpass Sachin Tendulkar's 100-Ton Tally

Surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's feat of 100 international centuries is "possible" for Virat Kohli, Australian great Ricky Ponting has said looking at the Indian superstar's new-found hunger for runs. Kohli recently ended a wait of 1,020 days for his 71st international hundred when he smashed 122 not out off 61 balls against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup earlier this month. "If you would have asked me three years ago, I'd have said yes. But the fact that it has slowed down as much as it did... yeah, I still think that it is possible for him, there's no doubt," Ponting said on The ICC Review.

Never say never with Virat Kohli, can go past Sachin Tendulkar: Ricky Ponting

Sachin Tendulkar's feat of 100 international centuries is "possible" for Virat Kohli, Australian great Ricky Ponting has said looking at the Indian superstar's new-found hunger for runs. Kohli recently ended a wait of 1,020 days for his 71st international hundred when he smashed 122 not out off 61 balls against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup earlier this month. "Look, I'll never say never with Virat, because you know once he gets on a bit of a roll, you know how hungry he is and how keen for success he is. I'll never say never that's for sure," the two-time Aussie World Cup winning skipper said.

"Ricky Ponting Treatment Needed": Fans On Chhetri Being Nudged By West Bengal Governor La Ganesan Iyer

West Bengal Governor La. Ganesan Iyer has been receiving a lot of flak from sports fans on social media after a video from the post match presentation of the 131st Durand Cup final went viral, in which Ganesan can be seen nudging Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri. In the video, Bengaluru FC captain Chhetri is seen receiving the trophy after his team beat Mumbai City FC 2-1 in the final at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

"I'll Be Surprised If...": Ricky Ponting Names His Pick for Australia ODI Captaincy

Earlier this month, right-handed batter Aaron Finch decided to retire from ODI format and he bid farewell from the 50-over game after playing a three-match series against Zimbabwe. Off late, Finch has struggled in this particular format and hence his decision cannot be looked at as a major surprise. His retirement means that Australia are now looking for a new ODI captain and former skipper Ricky Ponting believes that Pat Cummins would go on helm the side in the 50-over format.

"He Is More Skillful Than I Am": Sourav Ganguly On Comparisons With Virat Kohli

Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli have a lot in common. Both have captained India and both are known for being aggressive, passionate characters on the field, with their actions as well as in the way they led their teams. So it's no surprise that comparisons often arise between the two. But Ganguly, now the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, said that comparisons should not be made on that basis, but rather on their skills and conceded that Kohli is "more skillful" than he was.