Chris Cairns says 'Elephant' Ricky Ponting must go

37-year-old Ponting, who made his debut for Australia in 1995, has averaged just 27 in the past year and failed to advanced into three figures in Tests since January last year.

I think it is Ponting’s time: Cairns

“I don’t think you can have two years averaging 27 as a No 3. I think it’s his (Ponting) time,” Cairns said while talking to a leading Australian newspaper on Wednesday.

“And when you look at the likes of Mark Taylor, (Ian) Healy, Mark Waugh they were told it was their time. And there’s an elephant in the room at the moment in Ricky Ponting that nobody is really addressing,” he further stated.

Ponting should retire after Hobart Test

Cairns, who retired from Test cricket at the age of 34, advised Ponting to hang up the boots with the conclusion of New Zealand Test series.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got the utmost respect for Ricky Ponting but there’s a time and a place. And for me, his time and place is Hobart in the second Test against New Zealand. That’s to say, ‘Thanks very much’,” he said.

Several ex-Australian cricketers were also persistently suggesting aging Ponting to announce retirement but the former skipper last week rebuffed the advises saying “he is enjoying cricket and has no thoughts of retiring yet.”