Ponting Close to ODI Retirement

Ricky Ponting has been dropped from Australia's one day side, in a sign that the former skipper might be close to retiring from 50 over cricket.

While the Australia squad have gotten back on track from a disappointing few seasons, and been successful against India and Sri Lanka in recent series, Ponting has only scored 18 runs in five games, and chief selector John Inverarity confirmed that the 37 year old won't be a part of the one day line-up for the forseeable future.

"Ricky Ponting has been dropped from the ODI side and the national selection panel has spoken about moving towards the 2015 World Cup," Inverarity told reporters in Perth.

"The door is never closed on anyone but there is a strong indication there.

"I spoke with Ricky this morning, he was disappointed and understandably so, but he took it on the chin.

"The team will not seem the same without him, but moving on from the omission of players who have been outstanding over a long period of time is the nature of elite sport.

"He is a gem of a human being. He is a wonderful bloke and takes it all in his stride. He's wondering whether he retires from ODI cricket so the selectors no longer have him in contention as a possibility, which is unlikely, but a possibility."

But while Ponting may not play another one day match for Australia, Inverarity believes that he will still be a big part of the Test make-up.

He added: "We're hoping that Ricky will remain available for Test cricket. The last match he played he made a double century. We hope it's not the end for Ricky."

The squad will be without Ponting for the one-day clash against Sri Lanka in Hobart this coming Friday, and India in Sydney on Sunday.