Has Punter reached the end of the road?

Australian cricket great (not a term we use freely, but we reckon it's justified) Ricky Ponting has been dropped from Australia's ODI team. Could this be the end of the road for him? Cricinfo reports:

Ricky Ponting's removal from the Australia ODI team has pushed the former captain closer to retirement, leaving him to decide whether or not he wants to go on as a Test batsman only. John Inverarity, the national selector, said there was obvious disappointment when he informed Ponting of the selection panel's decision, and admitted a retirement from all forms was now a possibility.

Inverarity and his fellow selectors, including the national captain Michael Clarke, are adamant that Ponting should go on as a Test batsman. However, they have acknowledged that by taking away limited-overs cricket they have left a vast gap in Ponting's life that had previously been filled by the game's most prevalent format. Having returned to Sydney from Brisbane, where he played the last of 375 ODIs, Ponting is expected to speak publicly about his future on Tuesday.

"He made a double-century in his last Test match and we are hoping he remains available for Test cricket, but there can be no guarantees," Inverarity said. "Ricky is going to consider his future over the next couple of days and talk it over with his family and with his manager. He's wondering whether he retires completely from ODI cricket ... and then of course there are the implications for Test cricket.

"For a man who plays cricket like Ricky has over the last 15 or more years, he has been an integral part of the team in ODIs and Test matches. If he drops out of the ODIs then there is a possible lack of momentum there. There are three Tests in the West Indies, then as I understand it no more Test matches until October-November."

Beyond the West Indies tour, Australia's next scheduled Test matches are at home to South Africa and Sri Lanka, before keynote tours of India and England in 2013. Ponting has previously expressed a desire to return to England and win back the Ashes, but that may now look a very distant goal without the routine of ODIs to help keep him sharp and internationally drilled.

Will Ponting's axing from the ODI side result in his retirement from all forms of the game? And if it does, will it be an unintended consequence of a selectorial decision, or is there method in the selectors; apparent madness.

India recently played Australia in a test series where Ponting played his way back into form. Buth the selectors will have surely noted that the Indian batting lineup contained a number of veterans including Sachin Tendular, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, none of whom played to the level that we all know they are capable of.

We wonder if the Australian selectors have done what the Indian selectors should have done; coerced some of the senior players into retirement, and started to plan for LAP; Life After Punter. After all, there's an Ashes series looming in just over a year, so there is time to rebuild once the tough decisions have been made.

Ricky Ponting has broken our heart too often. But as sure as the sun rises in the morning, the day will come when he (and Michael Hussey) must stand aside and let someone else take their places. Has that day arrived?