Melbourne, Dec 13: Selectors might be forced to axe Ricky Ponting or Michael Hussey from the Australian cricket team for the upcoming four Tests against India after their dismal show in the just-concluded series with New Zealand, feels former captain Allan Border.
"I think one of the old boys will go," Border told Fox Sports show Inside Cricket.
"I think Hussey or Ponting will go." While Hussey's dip in form is recent, Ponting has been without a Test hundred for almost two years now and former Australian players feel the ex-captain is creating a tough situation for himself by not stepping down voluntarily.
"He's a great of the game, he's been fantastic for Australian cricket," spin legend Shane Warne said.
"Now you've got the situation where he's not performing. So now everyone's going to talk. It's going to annoy Ricky, it's going to annoy the team ... it is just the worst scenario possible when he decided to play on.
"I want Punter to get runs but when you see him getting out like this, it's just disappointing. I think we've got to say 'what are you going to do?'"
The view was echoed by former pacer Damien Fleming.
"Without putting a time limit on your career, you leave yourself open to this," Fleming said.
"If he said he wanted to play the summer six months ago I reckon the selectors would have gone with that. But he's said before the Hobart Test that he wants to continue on. Well, his figures are making it really hard for him to get a game," he added.
