Virat Kohli spoke fondly about his wife's influence which was nice to hear: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting has hailed Virat Kohli for acknowledging that his wife Anushka Sharma was his pillar of strength during his lean patch after the latter scored the much-awaited 71st international century during the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four clash against Afghanistan earlier this month. 

At the same time, Ponting also spoke about how a break helped Kohli in regaining his lost mojo with the bat. After the England tour in mid July, the batting megastar took an extended break from the game and ended up missing the West Indies limited-overs series and the three ODIs in Zimbabwe that followed.

It’s great to see him back in the runs: Ricky Ponting on Virat Kohli

"It’s great to see him back in the runs. Great to see him back with a smile on his face. That’s the thing you know?” Ponting told ICC.

“He was so happy, and I guess (he’s) relieved at the end of that game. He obviously spoke very fondly about his wife’s influence on the last couple of years of his life as well, which is also very nice to hear. A lot of that stuff goes unspoken about, in men’s sport in particular", the two-time World Cup-winning skipper added.

"Just the impact that your family and your very close ones have on you through your career. So it’s nice to hear that but also great to see Virat back in the runs again," he further added.

What made Virat's 71st international century even more special is that not only it had come after a long wait of almost three years but it also happened to be his maiden T20I ton.

The batting icon had an outstanding Asia Cup 2022 where he finished as the second-highest run-getter of the tournament having amassed 276 runs from five innings. Apart from that century, Kohli also scored two half-centuries against Hong Kong and arch-rivals Pakistan respectively. 

Virat Kohli would be eyeing his 72nd international century in the upcoming T20I series against Australia. The first game will be played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday, September 20.