Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that India will endure a tough tour when travel Down Under later this year.

India are coming off a 4-1 loss to England in their recently concluded five-Test series, which Ponting attributed to the batsmen’s inability to play against the moving ball.

With this in mind, Ponting believes that Virat Kohli’s side could be in for another long and arduous tour if the ball swings in Australia.

“If the ball does swing around a lot or seam around a lot then I think India will find it difficult in Australia,” Ponting was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “I think any time we saw India struggle through the England series was when the ball moved.

“As soon as the ball started to move in the air, or seam, the Indian batsmen will always struggle.

“It’s no different to when Australia go to the subcontinent and the ball spins from day one. We always struggle with that as well.”

Kohli, who captains India, was one of the bright spots for India during their series against England as he topped the standings for the most runs scored with 593, which included two centuries and three fifties, at an average of 59.30.

Despite this, the 29-year-old came under heavy criticism for his style of captaincy in the 4-1 loss.

However, Ponting jumped to Kohli defence, saying: “I’ve never sat back and tried to analyse what playing captains do as I know when I was captain on field is about 30 or 40 percent of what you need to be in control of.

“The rest of it happens behind closed doors or in the change rooms and quite often back in the hotel when you’ve got time to yourself.

“Trying to find ways to spend time with your teammates, learn about them inside out and trying to find a way to make them perform better on the field.

“It’s not so much about a bowling change or a field placement as that part of the game is highly overrated as far as I’m concerned.

“The tactical stuff is normally worked out a few days before the game and then you go with your gut instinct about the game out on the ground once the game starts.”

Meanwhile, Ponting admitted that it is growing increasingly difficult for teams to win on the road, and believes that South Africa have been the best at doing it in the last decade or so.

“It’s a 22-yard strip and you’ve got to find a way to get the job done,” he said. “Most teams find it difficult (to win in Australia) and that’s the way Test cricket has been for a long time.

“I think South Africa are the team over the last 10 or 15 years that have been able to do it more than anyone else.”

India’s tour of Australia will consist of three Twenty20 Internationals, four Tests and three ODIs.

The Twenty20 series will begin on November 21 in Brisbane, while the Test series will get underway on December 6 in Adelaide. As for the ODI series, it will start January 12 in Sydney.