Border-Gavaskar Trophy: This Aussie great backs Indian batsman Virat Kohli to come good

Australia great Ricky Ponting has once again backed out-of-form batter Virat Kohli but suggested that India should consider a change to its batting order should it qualify for the ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval in June.

Kohli has managed just 111 runs from five innings during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia and will once again come up against the same opposition should India clinch the final spot in the World Test Championship decider with a victory in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad this week.

Ponting discussed Kohli's current woes with the bat on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

"I'm not looking at anybody's form in this Test series because, for a batsman, it has just been an absolute, it's been a nightmare. For Virat, I've said it before I say it over and over. Champion players always find a way, and yes, it might seem like he's in a bit of a drought at the moment and he might not be scoring the runs that we all expect him to score," Ponting said.

"And certainly, you know, he's a realist as well. And we all know as batsmen, when you're struggling and not scoring runs, you don't need anybody else to tell you. You're pretty aware of it yourself. But no, I'm every day of the week putting my hand up and not even showing any sort of concern for Virat Kohli. Because I know he will bounce back," he added.

Ponting knows conditions in England in June will be vastly different to what the teams are currently facing in the subcontinent and believes that India should consider a change to its batting order should it reach the World Test Championship final.

Experienced right-hander KL Rahul was recently dropped for Shubman Gill at the top of India's batting order, but Ponting thinks there is a way that both players can feature at The Oval.

Rahul has scored two of his seven Test centuries in England — including an impressive 149 at The Oval back in 2018 — and Ponting thinks the 30-year-old could be an option to be utilised in India's middle-order.

"With someone like KL Rahul having gone out of this side and Shubman Gill having come in, both these guys have played a bit of Test match cricket and you could potentially have both of those guys in the same team. Maybe Shubman could start at the top and KL could potentially move down into the middle order because he's played cricket in those (English) conditions before, albeit at the top of the order," Ponting suggested.

Ponting urged both India and Australia to keep the English conditions in mind while selecting the best XI that can prosper during the one-off Test showpiece.

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