Ricky Ponting reveals the technique behind his pull shot

Ricky Ponting was regarded as one of the best pullers in the game during his playing days. The former Australia captain is now busy with coaching assignments and gladly helps young batsmen to master the skills of batting. ‘Punter’, as Ponting is also called, also likes to interact with fans where he speaks on the nuances of batting. On Monday, the 45-year-old took on some candid questions that the fans posed for him and he answered them with a straight bat.

One fan asked Ponting about his fascinating execution of pull shots throughout his long career, he came up with an insight that would help budding batsmen to learn the art. He advised on focusing the timing of the attempted shot and the intensity that resulted. In his reply, Ponting tweeted: “When I’m coaching people how to play a good pull shot, I always tell them to hit the ball as early as they can with fully extended arms and to practice hitting it hard every single time.”

When I'm coaching people how to play a good pull shot, I always tell them to hit the ball as early as they can with fully extended arms and to practice hitting it hard every single time https://t.co/MyBkndZ7RL

— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) January 27, 2020

Ponting, who scored over 27,000 runs in international cricket in 17 years with 71 hundreds, was also hit by speedsters like Steve Harmison and Javagal Srinath while executing shots during his playing days. However, those blows did not stop him from carrying out his exquisite pull shots. The bouncy wickets of Australia also helped Ponting master the skill from his younger days.

Ricky Ponting says it’s difficult to separate Kohli and Smith

The two-time World Cup-winning captain was also asked to pick either of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith as the most complete batsman in the world. Ponting played it diplomatically to say it is hard to separate the two. Kohli is currently the No.1 batsman in Test cricket while Smith is at No.2.

Hard to separate Virat Kohli and Steve Smith https://t.co/JrXLBdTkhc

— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) January 27, 2020

Ponting also revealed recently how he got the nickname of “Punter”. He said it was for his love for betting on dog races that his former team-mate Shane Warne gave him the nickname which in Australia, means gambler.

The former Australian skipper will be seen in action in the Bushfire Bash game on February 8. His team will be taking on that of Warne in that charity game meant to cater to the victims of the devastating bushfire in Australia.

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