NEW DELHI: Ricky Ponting, the previous Australian captain, has been appointed as the pinnacle coach of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) within the Indian Premier League (IPL). Following his departure from the Delhi Capitals (DC), Ponting revealed that his availability had change into a problem, main the franchise to hunt a full-time head coach.
Ponting will take cost of PBKS ranging from IPL 2025, after ending his seven-year affiliation with DC two months in the past.His appointment marks the third head coach for PBKS inside 4 seasons, because the workforce completed ninth within the 2024 IPL season and has not certified for the playoffs since 2014.
Certainly one of Ponting’s major duties will probably be figuring out gamers for retention forward of the upcoming season, pending the finalisation of the IPL’s retention guidelines, reported ANI.
Ponting started his IPL journey as a participant with the Kolkata Knight Riders within the inaugural 2008 season. He later joined the Mumbai Indians, stepping down as captain in 2013 to permit Rohit Sharma to steer the workforce to their first title. He continued with MI as an advisor in 2014 after which as head coach in 2015 and 2016.
In 2018, Ponting took over as head coach of the Delhi Capitals, guiding the workforce to a few consecutive playoff appearances from 2019 to 2021, together with their first last in 2020.
Ponting’s stint with DC resulted in July 2024, after which he led the Washington Freedom to a title-winning marketing campaign within the Main League Cricket (MLC).
“I felt like we created a very good household setting there. As I stated, I perceive what they need; they stated to me that my availability was changing into a problem. And so they needed to just about have a full-time head coach. I couldn’t decide to that, so I used to be upset that it ended, however I perceive the path they needed to go going ahead.”
“Everybody that I’ve been there with, has had a good time. You’ve got solely to have a look at a number of the social media posts that Delhi put out straightaway to grasp that a variety of the individuals concerned within the franchise have been upset that I wasn’t persevering with as properly. However the selections have been made.”
Ponting acknowledged the stress of profitable a trophy as a coach however welcomed it.
“That’s the factor that makes teaching inviting to me. I like having that stress. It’s as near getting again to enjoying as you possibly can presumably get. From the second I completed enjoying, when that competitors stops in your life, it’s actually exhausting to exchange that once more. The closest factor I may discover to enjoying was getting again within the cricket workforce’s altering room being a coach and feeling like you’re truly enjoying once more. And training in opposition to guys that I may need performed in opposition to and guys which might be teaching that I performed against–I need to beat them. Easy. A cricket altering room is the place I am purported to be.”
Reflecting on his IPL journey, Ponting known as teaching MI an “superior expertise” and described the DC altering room as a “particular place” regardless of not profitable a trophy.
“However we made a few large slip-ups in our mega-auction a few years in the past [2022] and even most likely our participant retentions, and that set us again fairly a means. And even this 12 months [2024], little issues went in opposition to us once more, with Rishabh [Pant, DC captain] being suspended for a sport that we needed to win. We missed the playoffs on run charge. Little issues like that add up. The leads to T20 video games are determined by actually small margins. After which our season may be outlined by actually small margins as properly. And we’ve been on the mistaken finish of these for a few years at DC.”
Ponting famous that teaching within the IPL has developed and is now extra particular, with groups overlaying each side by appointing specialised coaches.
“So you have got a variety of the perfect coaches on the planet there without delay. And when you have got the perfect coaches and the perfect gamers, you’re assured to have high-quality cricket. What the IPL has achieved by having all of those coaches is, I believe, the explanation that India are literally pretty much as good as they’re. There has all the time been that expertise in India, however to have that expertise round the perfect coaches for 2 or three months yearly has helped them change into higher gamers.”
Ponting additionally talked about that many IPL franchises are transferring in direction of having a full-time teaching workers. He himself thought-about not taking such a task on account of his different commitments and wish for household time.
Key performers for Punjab final season included Harshal Patel, who gained the Purple Cap for the second time, and the uncapped Indian gamers Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma.
The squad additionally contains skills like left-arm quick bowler Arshdeep Singh, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar. Notable abroad gamers within the workforce are England’s Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, and South African pacer Kagiso Rabada.
With Shikhar Dhawan‘s current retirement, figuring out a brand new captain may even be a precedence for Ponting and the workforce administration.
Ponting will take cost of PBKS ranging from IPL 2025, after ending his seven-year affiliation with DC two months in the past.His appointment marks the third head coach for PBKS inside 4 seasons, because the workforce completed ninth within the 2024 IPL season and has not certified for the playoffs since 2014.
Certainly one of Ponting’s major duties will probably be figuring out gamers for retention forward of the upcoming season, pending the finalisation of the IPL’s retention guidelines, reported ANI.
Ponting started his IPL journey as a participant with the Kolkata Knight Riders within the inaugural 2008 season. He later joined the Mumbai Indians, stepping down as captain in 2013 to permit Rohit Sharma to steer the workforce to their first title. He continued with MI as an advisor in 2014 after which as head coach in 2015 and 2016.
In 2018, Ponting took over as head coach of the Delhi Capitals, guiding the workforce to a few consecutive playoff appearances from 2019 to 2021, together with their first last in 2020.
Ponting’s stint with DC resulted in July 2024, after which he led the Washington Freedom to a title-winning marketing campaign within the Main League Cricket (MLC).
“I felt like we created a very good household setting there. As I stated, I perceive what they need; they stated to me that my availability was changing into a problem. And so they needed to just about have a full-time head coach. I couldn’t decide to that, so I used to be upset that it ended, however I perceive the path they needed to go going ahead.”
“Everybody that I’ve been there with, has had a good time. You’ve got solely to have a look at a number of the social media posts that Delhi put out straightaway to grasp that a variety of the individuals concerned within the franchise have been upset that I wasn’t persevering with as properly. However the selections have been made.”
Ponting acknowledged the stress of profitable a trophy as a coach however welcomed it.
“That’s the factor that makes teaching inviting to me. I like having that stress. It’s as near getting again to enjoying as you possibly can presumably get. From the second I completed enjoying, when that competitors stops in your life, it’s actually exhausting to exchange that once more. The closest factor I may discover to enjoying was getting again within the cricket workforce’s altering room being a coach and feeling like you’re truly enjoying once more. And training in opposition to guys that I may need performed in opposition to and guys which might be teaching that I performed against–I need to beat them. Easy. A cricket altering room is the place I am purported to be.”
Reflecting on his IPL journey, Ponting known as teaching MI an “superior expertise” and described the DC altering room as a “particular place” regardless of not profitable a trophy.
“However we made a few large slip-ups in our mega-auction a few years in the past [2022] and even most likely our participant retentions, and that set us again fairly a means. And even this 12 months [2024], little issues went in opposition to us once more, with Rishabh [Pant, DC captain] being suspended for a sport that we needed to win. We missed the playoffs on run charge. Little issues like that add up. The leads to T20 video games are determined by actually small margins. After which our season may be outlined by actually small margins as properly. And we’ve been on the mistaken finish of these for a few years at DC.”
Ponting famous that teaching within the IPL has developed and is now extra particular, with groups overlaying each side by appointing specialised coaches.
“So you have got a variety of the perfect coaches on the planet there without delay. And when you have got the perfect coaches and the perfect gamers, you’re assured to have high-quality cricket. What the IPL has achieved by having all of those coaches is, I believe, the explanation that India are literally pretty much as good as they’re. There has all the time been that expertise in India, however to have that expertise round the perfect coaches for 2 or three months yearly has helped them change into higher gamers.”
Ponting additionally talked about that many IPL franchises are transferring in direction of having a full-time teaching workers. He himself thought-about not taking such a task on account of his different commitments and wish for household time.
Key performers for Punjab final season included Harshal Patel, who gained the Purple Cap for the second time, and the uncapped Indian gamers Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma.
The squad additionally contains skills like left-arm quick bowler Arshdeep Singh, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar. Notable abroad gamers within the workforce are England’s Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, and South African pacer Kagiso Rabada.
With Shikhar Dhawan‘s current retirement, figuring out a brand new captain may even be a precedence for Ponting and the workforce administration.
