Ricky Ponting: People in India are always trying to find an excuse not to choose Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is a big-match player, according to Australian veteran Ricky Ponting, who also finds it “funny” that there are still arguments in India over whether the star batsman should be included in the team’s Twenty20 international lineup.

With 708 runs in 14 innings, Kohli is presently leading the race for the Orange Cap and playing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2024 Indian Premier League.

He has, however, come under fire for his strike rate in comparison to other top-order hitters, as the current IPL season sets new records and 200+ totals become the standard rather than the exception.

However, Kohli’s strike rate of 155.60 is the highest he has ever achieved for RCB in an IPL season, suggesting that the former captain is prepared to adjust to the evolving demands of the game.

In my opinion, Kohli is my top choice for India. Therefore, you cannot substitute such quality and expertise, Ponting said at the at the ICC.

“With Virat, it’s humorous. He said, “I believe that people in India just always look for an excuse to not choose him or a reason why he may not be as excellent as some of these other men in the T20 game.

Against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Kohli orchestrated an incredible 82-ball performance to win by a dramatic one-ball margin.

“I recall having this conversation and a few more that I had with the ICC regarding the rumors that Virat wasn’t on their team last year, but when the big games rolled around, he was among the players who performed well,” Ponting said.

This season, Kohli has batted in the No. 3 position for India but has also opened for the RCB. The fact that young left-handed batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal has established himself as a good opener and is expected to open for skipper Rohit Sharma makes it more difficult for Kohli to partner him at the top of the order.

“They (selectors) still need to decide on the opening pair because (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is in that group, and left-hand hitters are something they don’t have a lot of on their team,” Ponting said.

They must decide whether to bat Jaiswal at number one, but I’m very certain they’ll start Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. At the top, he can fulfill his function. And with the proper players around him, such as Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma will be able to score runs at a rapid pace. “These other guys can enter and play by their rules,” he said.

While Ponting acknowledges that the T20 scene has drastically evolved in the last three to four years, he also notes that clubs now like their top-order hitters to play powerful knocks across lengthy innings.

“It didn’t really matter if it took them 60 balls to make an 80 or 100; that was, I believe, the mantra for the teams three or four years ago,” Ponting said.

In place of earning an 80 off 55 balls, he said, “I think it’s sort of shifting now to be more of a strike rate-based game where you can have a massive impact on a game with a 40 off 15 balls.”