Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has likened Travis Head to his former teammate Adam Gilchrist for his fearless and aggressive batting, regardless of the situation. Ponting praised Head’s approach, calling it thrilling to watch, and said he would gladly watch him play any day.
Head played a pivotal role in Australia’s 10-wicket victory over India in the second Test in Adelaide. Batting at No. 5, with the match hanging in the balance, the left-hander hammered 140 runs off 141 balls, helping Australia secure a 157-run lead. The hosts eventually won by 10 wickets.
Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting, who captained Gilchrist many times in Tests, recalled the damage the wicketkeeper-batter often caused batting at No. 6 or 7.
“The obvious one is Gilly. The way that Head plays is in a very similar way to the way that Gilchrist played, albeit a couple of positions higher in the batting order.”
“Gilly was a six or seven, and Travis is doing his damage at No.5. I love sitting back and watching him play. It’s quite refreshing to watch guys play that way. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, Travis is going to come out and play the same way, and I love that,” he claimed.
“I don’t think he can be called a great just yet”- Ricky Pointing on Travis Head
While recognizing that Head has stepped up in some of the toughest situations for the team, Ponting stopped short of calling the left-hander a great just yet.
“I don’t think you can call him a great just yet. That’s no knock on what he’s doing because what he’s doing has been spectacular. And a lot of the times, it’s been when his team’s needed him the most.”
“Think about the World Cup semi-final, the World Cup final, World Test Championship, Ashes in Australia a couple of years ago. Big moments are when Travis has found a way to stand up,” he said in the same interaction.
The third Australia-India Test begins in Brisbane on Saturday, December 14.
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