'Champion players always tend to find way when it matters the most' - Ricky Ponting on why he backed Virat Kohli to shine again

Ricky Ponting's confidence in Virat Kohli to return to form at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup has been demonstrated by the India star's remarkable turnaround from a rough patch. Even though the India right-hander was struggling for runs and had not scored a ton in nearly three years, Ponting, who used to captain Australia, backed Kohli to return to his brilliant best.

In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup and for the Super 12 stage in Australia, Ponting had previously urged the India selectors to keep Kohli in the Indian team, who was not performing well earlier. Now, the former World-Cup winning captain has explained why he was confident that Kohli could improve his form and shine once more on the biggest stage.

He's been a champion player of the game in all three formats for a long period of time: Ponting on Kohli

"He's been a champion player of the game in all three formats for a long period of time," Ponting had said as quoted by ICC. "One thing I've learnt about champion players, in this game, in particular, is you just never write them off. They always tend to find a way, particularly when it matters most, to dig deep enough and find a way to get a job done.

"If you wind the clock back about a week, the start of this tournament; India, Pakistan, right here at the MCG - that was what I thought might happen. Virat rolling the clock back a little bit, playing a match-winning knock, being man of the match in what I think is one of the best sporting spectacles that I've ever seen," he added.

The former India captain has already amassed 220 runs batting at number three to be the leading scorer at the T20 World Cup and has only been dismissed once in four innings. The right-handed batter will be seen in action again on November 6 (Sunday) against the Zimbabwe.