Border Gavaskar Trophy: Ricky Ponting ignores Gautam Gambhir's stern advice, says Rohit Sharma will disrupt India

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The much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia kicks off on Friday (November 22).

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting reiterated his bold prediction of a 3-1 series victory for Australia and has stirred another comment on the Indian team, much against the advice from Gautam Gambhir.

Gambhir and Ponting got involved in a war of words recently. The ex-Australia skipper criticized Virat Kohli and his form ahead of the Test series. Gambhir, the head coach of the Indian team, hit back and advised Ponting to mind his own business.

"What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket," Gambhir said.

But it seems that Ponting has not taken any piece from Gambhir as he continues to question the Indian team and speak on the Indian players. The former Aussie player this time spoke on the India captain Rohit Sharma.

Rohit, currently on paternity leave, will miss the series opener, with pace ace Jasprit Bumrah leading the side in his absence. And Ponting believes the India captain's arrival will create a disruption.

Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting stated, "I just think there's potential for more disruption through their campaign with Sharma coming back and whatever else. So I'll stick with it (3-1 verdict in favour of Australia)."

Ponting underlined the importance of key Australian batters like Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith stepping up in the series, alongside a world-class bowling attack. "Labuschagne and Smith need to make runs for Australia. And their bowling attack obviously is as good as anyone's in the world," he added.

Despite Australia's edge, Ponting acknowledged that India's team is well-prepared for the series. He highlighted the visitors' familiarity with the situation.

"India will be pretty certain of what team they're going to play (in Perth). They've known for a while that Rohit probably wasn't going to be here. They've probably known for a while that Bumrah was going to be captain. So they'll be reasonably settled," he added.

Ponting also stressed the importance of mental readiness in high-stakes series, particularly one as intense as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

"Your skills don't ever leave you. They don't go too far away. But as long as you're thinking clearly and thinking the right things, then you can make your body do pretty much whatever you want it to do," the current Punjab Kings coach concluded.

With the series set to kick off and both teams eager to establish dominance, fans can expect another thrilling chapter in one of cricket's greatest rivalries. It is going to be a pivotal series for India who need to win by a big margin in order to qualify for the WTC final next year.