Making headlines with his bold prediction of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also reserved special praise for Pakistan's head coach Jason Gillespie on Tuesday. The ex-Australian fast bowler was roped in as the red-ball coach of the Babar Azam-starrer side by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in April. While Gillespie was appointed Pakistan men's Test coach, former South African batter Gary Kirsten took over the coaching reins in the white-ball format.

After the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, the focus has been shifted to red-ball cricket as Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and India are fighting for the top two spots to contest the World Test Championships final. With India set to tour Australia in the ongoing edition of the WTC, Ponting has backed the Baggy Greens to upstage the Asia heavyweights in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

'Jason Gillespie is a bit like Gambhir'

Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting said that Pakistan coach Gillespie and India's Gautam Gambhir have much in common. "Jason Gillespie is a bit like Gambhir. Pretty much everywhere he has been, his coaching record has been very very good. He will have some challenges I got no doubt about it. But he is a deep thinker and as I said, a quiet person that goes about it in his own way," Ponting said.

Gillespie is one of the three coaches appointed on two-year contracts by PCB for their men's national team. Warmly welcomed to the Pakistan cricket family by PCB, Mohsin Naqvi asserted that Jason's coaching career has been marked by success both at the domestic and international levels. Before Pakistan roped him in for the top job, Gillespie never served an international Test side as head coach.

"We've got a few WhatsApp groups over the years, all of us old guys that have played together. So everyone's congratulated him (Gillespie) and wished him luck in that role. And look, to be honest, I am not surprised at all by the amount of changes in that group. I know it is a different format but they had a very disappointing T20 World Cup. If you are not willing to make some changes, you're expecting similar results to come your way," Ponting added.