Acknowledging the natural talent of the swashbuckling Indian wicket-keeper, the former Australian skipper was confident that he would get into his stride as soon as he returned to play.

“Knowing Rishabh, it probably won’t (take time to adjust) because he’s such a natural talent and just knowing the sort of person that he is, I don’t think he’ll be awed,” Ponting said.

“I don’t think he’ll be scared by the comeback. The fact that he’s missed 15 months of cricket, I don’t think it’ll faze him too much.

“I think he’ll just go out there and certainly, that’s my job anyway – I’ll be telling him to go back out and play the way that he’s always played and I think if he does that, I think the game will come back to him a bit quicker. If he goes out there and tries to find his way and get back into the groove, I think it might take him a little bit longer. 

“But at the end of the day, that’s what these practice games now have been for, that’s what the camp has been for, for us to get his skills and his mindset back into a place where he can just go out and play the way that he’s always played.”