Ponting On Replacing Kohli And Rohit In Tests: 'If Any Country Can Do It...'
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Ricky Ponting opened up on the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, praising India's young talents who can take their place.
Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting opened up on how the team will navigate the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Team India is preparing for their five-match Test series in England, commencing on June 24 at the Headingley Carnegie Stadium. The team will be without the experienced Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have both retired from Test cricket, as new captain Shubman Gill aims to lead the team into a new chapter.
Ponting acknowledged the difficulty of replacing the seasoned Rohit and Kohli in the Test arena but expressed confidence in India's ability to do so, given their abundance of talented players.
'It's always very difficult to replace players like that who have been around for so long and have played so much Test cricket. But if any country can do it quickly, it's India because of the young talent they have," Ponting was quoted as saying by The ICC Review.
'I've seen it firsthand over the last 10 years in the IPL, and we've witnessed the emergence of players like (Yashasvi) Jaiswal who have transitioned to international cricket with India and performed well almost immediately.
'While replacing the skill is one aspect, which I believe India can do relatively easily, the experience is the key element that will be missing. Even with a young captain like Shubman Gill, they will still have some experienced players like KL Rahul and Bumrah around.
'In a rebuilding phase, I think India can handle it better than most other teams," Ponting added.
'Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are seasoned players who have secured many victories for us. It is always challenging to replace such talent, but our team has a good blend of youth and experience," Gill stated at the pre-departure press conference.
'This situation does not add extra pressure because our team is always ready to handle stress and knows how to win in such circumstances," Gill added.
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