Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has received significant backlash after stating that current Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma is a better player than Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting.
Gambhir, who retired from international cricket in 2018, made the controversial statement during a recent television appearance. He argued that Sharma’s ability to score runs in all formats of the game and his leadership skills make him a superior player to Ponting, who retired in 2012 with a record of over 13,000 runs in ODIs.
Many cricket fans and analysts have criticized Gambhir for his statement, with many pointing out Ponting’s impressive record and leadership skills during his career. Some have even called for him to apologise for what they see as a disrespectful and unfounded statement.
Gauti has sparked controversy by claiming that current Indian player Rohit Sharma is a superior player to Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting. Gambhir based his assertion on Ponting’s relatively poor record in the subcontinent, where he averages 42 in ODIs, compared to Sharma’s average of close to 49.
“Rohit Sharma is a better player than Ricky Ponting, mainly due to Ponting’s poor record in the sub-continent,” Gambhir said. He went on to point out that Sharma has 29 centuries and 9537 runs in 237 ODI matches, while Ponting has 30 centuries and 13704 runs in 375 games at an average of 42. Punter has scored just 6 centuries in the sub-continent, compared to Sharma’s 13 ODI hundreds outside the sub-continent where he averages 47.
The statement from Gambhir has caused a huge debate among cricket fans and experts, with opinions divided on the topic. It remains to be seen how Gambhir will respond to the backlash and whether he will backtrack on his statement or stand by it.
Here are some of the tweets: