Should Ricky Ponting Retire?
There was a time in world cricket when Aussie cricketers were known for their selfless play and for putting their country above personal milestones. Aussie captains were known for declaring innings even when their players were on the verge of milestones. In comparison other teams and more so players from India were known for playing for milestones even though it meant foregoing a win and settling for a draw in the process.
However these days things have changed and it is Aussies who have been going for personal glory and Aussies have gone a step ahead with their selectors retaining players in the team to enable them to achieve personal milestones. Let us take the case of Ricky Pointing who was in brilliant form till about four years back but since then has struggled to get going in Tests and one dayers. If one were to go by Ricky Pontings form since 2007 he does not deserve to be in the team for his performances have been pathetic to say the least.
In his last 63 Test innings Ponting averages a mediocre 43.13 with 6 hundreds and his last 63 one day innings are no better averaging 36.67 with 4 hundreds. It may be argued in Pontings favour that is selected primarily as a captain, but at the end of the day Pontings captaincy record is not as good as it used to be early in his career. A team like England which was never ever rated highly managed to beat Aussies twice in Ashes, though they had the advantage of playing at home while South Africans got the better of Aussies in their own den which is even more remarkable. Defeats to mediocre England and chokers South Africa have tarnished the reputation of his illustrious predecessors like Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor who lead Aussie teams to ruthless victorious even againstteams like South Africa. Our own Mahendra Singh Dhoni , probably the best captain in the world ever since he took over has lead India to comfortable triumphs over the Aussies in Tests and one dayers. Adding insult to injury is the fact that Aussies who were accustomed to being the top ranked team in the world in Tests no longer enjoy that position as it is Indians now and deservingly so.
When batting legend Sachin Tendulkar who boasts of amazing consistenty in a two decade career has had a rare failure in innings which were few and far between, Chappel brothers, Greg and Ian never missed an opportunity in criticizing the maestro and asking him to quit but when it comes to their own player Ponting who has had a mediocre 4 years in Tests and One dayers Chappel brothers and other Aussie greats who were critical on Indian legend Sachin are surprisinly silent. At the age of 35 years and 210 days Ponting is no youngster to be persisted with but the fact that he still finds a place in the team and too as its skipper is a clear indications that Aussie selectors want to give Ponting every possible opportunity to overtake Sachin Tendulkars as the highest run getter and century maker in Tests and One Dayers.
It is time for Ponting to take a break from international cricket, get back some sort of form after playing domestic matches and try to get back his place in the team rather than live on past reputation a comment he made on Sachin few years back. If one were to go by the high standards Aussies have set for themselves Ponting should have quit international cricket atleast a couple of years before.
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