Former Australia captain and Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting hit back at Virat Kohli's critics for questioning his place in India's T20 World Cup squad
Kohli has been included in the 15-member squad for the showpiece event, slated to take place in the West Indies and the USA in June 2. Prior to the squad announcement by BCCI, there were reports suggesting that the right-handed batter might not be picked due to concerns about the suitability of his batting on the slow tracks in the US. The reports sparked a storm on social media.
Given his incredible form in the ongoing IPL season, Virat Kohli has been added to the squad that will fly to the US and the West Indies for the prestigious tournament. However, there were criticisms around Kohli's inclusion in the squad due to his strike-rate issue.
Speaking on ICC review, Ricky Ponting chose Virat Kohli as his first pick from India and suggested he play at the top-order of the batting line-up while backing the legendary batter to come up with goods in the T20 World Cup 2024.
"I think people in India just always try to find a reason not to pick him or a reason why he's maybe not as good as some of these other guys in the T20 game." the two-time World Cup-winning captain said.
"He (Kohli) is the first pick for me for India. He can play his role at the top. And if you've got the right guys around him scoring like Suryakumar (Yadav). Rohit Sharma's going to have a high strike rate." he added.
Virat Kohli was the highest run-getter of the T20 World Cup 2022, amassing 296, including four fifties, at an average of 98.66 and a strike rate of 136.40 in six matches. His best performance came against Pakistan, where he played a valiant unbeaten innings of 82 off 52 balls to help the Men in Blue chase down 160-run target.
Kohli is currently the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup, with 1141, including 14 fifties, at an average of 81.50 and a strike rate of 131.30 in 25 innings.
