Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has backed the management’s move to rest star players from the recent third ODI of the series against Pakistan. Ponting also added that it was the right move, especially for the pace attack as they have to get through five Tests over the summer in a short span as well.

Speaking on the latest episode of the ICC Review, Ricky Ponting said, “Looking back at it, it must have been something that was decided a long way out because with a series being 1-1, Australian cricket teams don’t like losing. The thing that the public probably found most frustrating was how big that gap was between the third one-dayer and the first Test.”

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“But the other side to look at it is that these boys have now got to get through five straight Test matches in quite a short, compressed amount of time. And certainly, for the fast bowlers, that’s never an easy thing to do. So I’m sure the plan was to give those guys that break ensures them of getting through to the end of the Test series a little bit fresher and healthier than they might have been if they had to travel to Perth and play that one-day game,” he further added.

Ricky Ponting also suggested that the ODI series defeat to Pakistan will motivate Australia more to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well.

“We saw last time that India were here, they were battling more than Australia. They had all sorts of injuries on the way through and still found a way to get up and win. They [Australia] lost that [ODIs vs Pakistan] series, the first time they lost a series to Pakistan in Australia for 22 years. And now they’ve got to turn up ready to play that first Test match and look to find ways to win the series,” Ricky Ponting concluded.