New Delhi, Dec 13
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes left-handed batter Travis Head is well on his way to becoming one of the batting greats of the modern-day game.
Head was named Player of the Match after scoring a stunning 140 off 141 balls to help Australia beat India by ten wickets in the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval and help the hosts’ level the five-match series at 1-1.
Head has been India’s nemesis over the last 18 months – making magnificent 163 in the 2023 World Test Championship final and a match-winning 137 in the ODI World Cup final later that year.
“He's on the way to being one of those (greats). 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," said Ponting on the ICC Review show.
He also compared Head’s style of play to his former teammate, swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist, who brought in aggressive strokeplay as a left-handed batter in Australia’s dominating era in early 2000s.
“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.
“It's Travis's attitude that allows him to play the way that he's played. He's not scared of getting out. He doesn’t care about the negative result. He's only seeing the positive outcome in everything that he does,” concluded Ponting.