IND vs AUS: Ricky Ponting urges India to pick their best XI for fourth Test to be played in Ahmedabad

Australia great Ricky Ponting urged Team India to shuffle their batting lineup for the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The former cricketer said that India should consider this in order to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, at The Oval, on June 7. 

The Aussie also threw his support for the out-of-form star Indian batter, Virat Kohli. The former India skipper Kohli has managed just 111 runs from India’s five innings against Australia. 

While speaking in The ICC review, hosted by Sanjana Ganesan, Ponting discussed Kohli’s woes with the bat. He said that 'champion' Kohli might not be scoring much nowadays but he will surely bounce back.

"I'm not looking at anybody's form in this Test series because, for a batsman, it has just been an absolute, it's been a nightmare. For Virat, I've said it before I say it over and over. Champion players always find a way, and yes, it might seem like he's in a bit of a drought at the moment and he might not be scoring the runs that we all expect him to score,” Ponting said.

"And certainly, you know, he's a realist as well. And we all know as batsmen, when you're struggling and not scoring runs, you don't need anybody else to tell you. You're pretty aware of it yourself. But no, I'm every day of the week putting my hand up and not even showing any sort of concern to Virat Kohli. Because I know he will bounce back,” he added.

'It's really important to pick the team that you think was best to win that one-off game' - Ponting to Team India 

Ponting went on to say that if the Rohit Sharma-led side did not make a proper change in their batting lineup for the final Test against Australia, their chances of making it to the WTC final would be in vain. Notably, Australia secured their place in the WTC final after a nine-wicket win over the hosts in the third Test at Indore.

"Because it's just a one-off Test match, it will be really important to pick the team that you think is going to have the most success in those conditions. The Oval can be a really, really good place to bat as long as the sun is out, it's probably as good a wicket as any in the UK. So I think that's what it would come down to for India. It would just come down to assessing the conditions and then maybe forgetting about this last series that's just been played,” the 48-year-old said.

"The conditions that we're seeing here (in India) are quite extreme. If it was Australia and India, they would both look at the conditions and pick the team that they think was best to win that one-off game,” he concluded.

The final Test between India and Australia is set to be played at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad which will commence from March 9. Earlier, India won the first two Tests and subsequently retained the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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