New Delhi: For most players, criticism takes a toll on their professional and personal lives. But for some, criticism brings the best out of them. Virat Kohli falls in the second category. The star Indian batter has a history of being spurred on by his critics. For Kohli, criticism acts as a motivation to perform even better and silence his critics in the process. Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee knows this fact but perhaps his former skipper Ricky Ponting doesn’t.
Poking Kohli isn’t the best of ideas but it seems Ponting thinks otherwise. Ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia, the former Australian skipper questioned Kohli’s place in the Test team owing to his poor run of form. But his remarks have been labelled as a ‘bad move’ by his ex-teammate Lee.
While Kohli is going through a lean patch, he has the ability and quality to bounce back, especially in Australia – his favourite hunting ground. Kohli has an impeccable record Down Under and Lee fears that Ponting’s remarks will fire Kohli to perform at his best in Australia.
” That is a bad move”
“That is a bad move, Ricky. What are you doing? You are going to fire that guy up. He is a world-class player and he will fire up out here,” Lee said on Fox Cricket’s podcast The Follow On.
Ponting was slammed by India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, who advised him to not worry about Indian cricket. Though the Aussie later clarified that his comments should not be taken as a jibe at the Indian superstar, the damage might be already done.
Kohli boasts an impressive record Down Under, amassing 1352 runs in 13 Tests at a superb average of 54.08. The batting master has hit six centuries in Australia and some of his innings have come after being targeted by Australian media or players. The craze surrounding Delhi dasher Down Under was made evident on Tuesday by his front-page pictures in several Australian newspapers and tabloids.
Virat Kohli has an impeccable record Down Under and Brett Lee fears that Ricky Ponting’s remarks will fire the Indian star batter to perform at his best in Australia. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
