Ponting backs Virat Kohli's month-long break from cricket

Ricky Ponting on Wednesday said Virat Kohli did the right thing by taking a month-long break from cricket. Following up his 35 against Pakistan in India's Asia Cup opener, former Indian skipper Kohli on Wednesday struck a fluent 44-ball 59 not out versus Hong Kong in Dubai, his first international half-century since a 52 against the West Indies in a T20I in Kolkata on February 18 this year. "I just hope that we see him back at his best and in the World Cup," the two-time World Cup winning skipper Ponting said on the 'ICC Review'.

"I'd rather see Virat come out here (in Australia) and be one of the leading players in the tournament, but just make sure he doesn't score many runs against Australia when they play!" Ponting's comments came after India's five-wicket win over Pakistan on Sunday. Coming back after a month-long break from cricket, Kohli scored a 34-ball 35 against the arch-rivals. "First and foremost, great to see him back among the runs," Ponting said.

"No surprised that he did it in a run chase. We've always known that about him. His record suggests he is better when his team is chasing runs.

"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. Like a lot of us men, he wasn't willing to talk about it and share it. "It sounds like when he started to share, started to talk, it might have just freed him up a bit and he started to feel better about himself again," the Aussie said, referring to Kohli's recent statement that he was "faking intensity" amid his struggles with the bat.