I don't think it is right to compare Kohli and Ponting as captains: Adam Gilchrist

Legendary Australian World Cup-winning wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist joins the group of former cricketers who believed that former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has all the right to take a call on his retirement. Recently, the world has seen a lot of discussions regarding Dhoni’s retirement from international cricket.

However, Gilchrist rubbished all these speculations by saying that Dhoni would be the right person to take a call on the future of his cricket career. It is widely understood that Dhoni would play the 2019 World Cup in England.
“Only he knows that. I think he has owned the right to make that decision,” Gilchrist said.

Heaps praise Virat Kohli

The southpaw also heaped praise on Indian captain Virat Kohli, who is breaking records one after another. Kohli recently became the highest run-scorer after playing 202 ODIs. He even surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record by scoring 9030 runs at an average of 55.74. Kohli also went past Ricky Ponting by scoring his 31st hundred.

The Indian top order batter, who has 32 centuries to his name, is now only second to Tendulkar who has 49 hundred in ODI. Kohli is now poised to break Tendulkar’s record number of centuries.

“I don’t think it is right to compare Virat Kohli’s captaincy with Ricky Ponting’s captaincy. We shouldn’t compare players of different eras. But Virat has got his own style, he is aggressive. His team seems to be inspired by that and look he is getting results,” he said.

Gilly also said that Kohli’s captaincy will be measured by his performance in overseas conditions. “But again his captaincy will get under closer scrutiny when he is playing under conditions that aren’t suited to his team and he needs to make big and tactical decisions on how to get through difficult times. I am sure he’ll have great confidence in getting through that. So, that’s how he will be judged. I have been very impressed with the passion with which he leads his team,” he said.

“India is a very strong side, particularly in their home conditions. They have got quality spin bowling, they have got pace bowling options. Their batting has really performed well here. But I think the teams are judged on how they perform overseas. So, I think they already have an eye towards the South Africa tour,” he stated.