Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has commented on Team India’s combination after their 30-run defeat to South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata. Although Washington Sundar batted well at No. 3 slot,
Ponting believes he wouldn’t bat at the same spot overseas as well.

He spoke on the latest episode of the ICC Review: “I didn’t see the time and who he came in against. If he was coming in against left-arm spin, predominantly where the ball is spinning into the left-hand batter. You sort of break it down to what you were doing in the 50-over or 20-over game. You want to have the right match-ups there. So, it might have been something to do with that. He has done nothing wrong with the bat since he’s come into the Test side. What he did through that series in England – he looks every part as the Test-match batter. In the right conditions, he came at number three. I wouldn’t like him to bat at number three outside of India because there will be enough technique challenges outside of India to deal with.”

“You probably look at that and think it’s a strange selection because the quality of batter that there is around India – you think, ‘Is he the best or is there someone potentially who can play better in the role?’ That might have been him filling the gap – him batting at three and being that fourth spinner in that side. It might have been to make up for that one game,” he further added.

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“It’s never easy to come and fill in for a stop-gap captain, especially when you’ve lost a Test match few days before. Rishabh is reasonably an experienced Test-match player now and being a wicketkeeper probably helps him see how the game is evolving and what’s happening in the game. So, he’s done it in IPL for the last few years and did it for Delhi before that. I think he will be fine. It will be interesting to see how he plays as captain and how he manages his style of play as a batter. I think he will handle the occasion fine,” he again shared.

“The one thing that is not spoken about these so called younger Indian players now is when they take the step up to play for India in Test match or leading the team and they get that experience from the IPL. The IPL is as big as a Test match for a lot of these guys because of the crowd and scrutiny that comes in the IPL. I think the modern players are a bit more ready for that, those leadership roles and the enormity of the situation than they might have been 15 years ago. So, I think Rishabh will look fine,” he stated.

With the pitch of the first Test in Kolkata came under scrutiny, the veteran also suggested that it made little sense for India to prepare turning wickets when their batters themselves struggle as well.

“I’ve been on record for a few years talking about this exactly. They prepare these wickets so much in favour of spinners that it negates the quality of their spin. It makes the opposition spinners that probably aren’t as skilful as the Indians. It makes them better when they get wickets that turn like that. The other knock on Indian cricket is that in the last five or six years, they don’t play spin as well as they did once as a batting group. So, for me, it’s just that they are evening it up for everybody else. I think New Zealand last year was a great example of that.”

“New Zealand outplayed them for wickets that were designed and meant for the Indian players. I saw Gambhir’s quote and it’s fair enough – chasing 120 in the last innings, they should’ve been able to get that done. But we’ve all seen pitches like that – you lose one wicket and you lose couple in a row and then the pressure comes on. There’s fielders around the bat everywhere,” Ricky Ponting concluded.