Michael Clarke explains reason for backing Ricky Ponting at the twilight of his career

Ricky Ponting is arguably the best captain of Australia and one of the finest in world cricket. He had taken Australian cricket to unattained heights during his captaincy tenure including back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2003, and, 2007 editions respectively. 

However, there was a time when Ponting was not in the scheme of things of the Australian team management and now, his former teammate Michael Clarke has come forward and revealed how he backed the legendary cricketer at the twilight of the latter's career after being appointed as his successor.

'I said, we need him': Michael Clarke

“When I took over the captaincy, that’s why I fought to keep Ricky,” said Michael Clarke while speaking to former NRL star Brett Finch on his Uncensored podcast.

“The selectors said, ‘Very rarely does a captain stand down and stay in the team, so if you don’t feel comfortable … it’s time for Ricky to go’.

“I said, ‘We need him. We need him for his batting, but he’ll be another coach for us’. So I fought hard to keep him, I wanted him there. I thought he played a big part in helping that younger generation get to the level we needed to. If he was batting at 80 percent, he was better than anybody else at No. 3 or No. 4. We think the grass is greener all the time. Very rarely is it", the 2015 World Cup-winning skipper added.

Ricky Ponting's successful cricketing career

Ricky Ponting has been one of the best captains in world cricket and was also one of the finest batsmen during his playing days. He led the mighty Australians to two consecutive World Cup triumphs in 2003 & 2007 and was also a part of the Steve Waugh-led squad in the 1999 edition. After bidding adieu to international cricket in 2012, Ponting has been associated with the game as a player in franchise cricket as well as in the commentary box and as a cricket pundit.

Ponting has represented Australia in 168 Tests and 375 One Day Internationals between 1995 to 2012. Apart from being an integral part of Australia's three consecutive World Cup triumphs between 1999 to 2011, he was also a part of the Mark Taylor-led side that had finished as the runners-up in the 1996 edition. 'Punter' also led the Aussies to two straight ICC Champions Trophy triumphs in 2006 and 2009 respectively.