'Gambhir hits back at Ponting for comments on Virat Kohli'

Gautam Gambhir fired back at Ricky Ponting's criticism of Virat Kohli, questioning the former Australian captain's authority to comment on matters that do not concern him. As the head coach of the Indian team, Gambhir dismissed Ponting's concerns and expressed full support for Kohli and Rohit Sharma, emphasizing their relentless hunger for success. Ponting had pointed out Kohli's relatively low Test century count in the past five years, suggesting that another player would have been dropped by now, but Gambhir believes in the proven abilities of the dynamic duo to deliver when it matters the most.

Kohli and Rohit had a series to forget against New Zealand, which India lost 0-3, tallying just 93 and 91 runs, respectively, from six innings each. At 36 and 37, Kohli and Rohit clearly have more cricket behind them than in front, but going by Gambhir's confidence, the two still have a lot to achieve and deliver going forward.

Kohli and Rohit's failure was a prime reason behind India getting whitewashed at home by Australia, among other things. Gambhir admitted that his team was outplayed, out-skilled and outperformed, but rather than raking the loss with a pinch of salt, the head coach is wearing it as a badge of honour, mentioning how the defeat is going to spur the star batting duo and have them firing on all cylinders when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy gets underway November 22 in Perth's Optus Stadium.

"Not at all. What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? He should think about Australian cricket. I don't have any concerns. They are incredibly tough men; they've achieved a lot for Indian cricket and are going to achieve a lot in future as well," Gambhir said during India's pre-departure press-conference in Mumbai on Monday.

"For me the most important thing is that they still work very hard; they are still passionate; want to achieve a lot more. And that is something which is important. The hunger in the dressing room is invariably important for me and the entire group of people as well. There is a lot of hunger, especially after what has happened in the previous series."