Ricky Ponting: To Be or Not To Be

To be brutally honest, I hate the guts of Ricky Ponting. I mean after all the anti-Indian cricketing vendetta he has been privy to in the recent past, which Indian, a hard core Indian who swears by cricket, will feel like patronising him?

But in spite of the fact that I hate him, I also have to admit that the guy is one of the best cricketers I have had the fortune to see and follow.

His game on the field is one of the sublimest when he is in full flow and some of his shots are just exquisite, no other word for it!

And though relatively speaking, he might not be what Lara was for the West Indian side or what Sachin means to Indian cricket, Ponting remains a pivot and a complete classman in the Australian middle order for over a decade now.

From being the understudy to all the Taylors and the Waughs, Ponting has, since their retirement established his own power and aura to the team.

If the Australian team under the captaincy of Steve Waugh was just a difficult side to beat, at a certain point of time under his captaincy, the word "difficult" became "impossible!"

Chosen as the skipper over Shane Warne, Ponting never made the selectors rue their decision about handing over the captaincy mantle to him, often leading from the front when the others lost their way.

This, of course was a very rare happening and most of the time, Ponting's role was just left to bark orders.

Currently tipped as the favourite to overrule Sachin's record of most number of centuries, Ponting has come a long way from being the 20-year-old inducted in the Australian international squad in 1995.

And while he may have matured as a cricketer in these 15 years, the same unfortunately can't be said of his sportsmanship, which contrarily has been deteriorating along the same lines.

Controversy, has almost every Aussie cricketer's prerogative and Ponting is no exception to this classification. His cockiness often bordering on insolence and disregard to the spirit of the game has come under the line of fire so many times.

His time and again abrasiveness on the expected correct attitude and demeanour, negates the proverb "One learns from one's mistake" on him.

Considering that his shelf life is soon about to expire, it would be advisable that he change at least so that by the time he retires, he doesn't face just negativity, in spite of all his talent.

However, if by any chance, he doesn't rectify his social standing as a cricketer before his final curtain, it will be a shame to recognise his name with his perfidies rather than his accolades; not only to the sport but also to the country and to his countless fans all over!