Ricky Ponting the former Australian skipper spilled the beans about diving into oneonone discussions on the Team India head coach gig during IPL 2024. However Ponting decided to pass as it didnt quite gel with his current lifestyle.
With Rahul Dravid seemingly undecided about reapplying as Team Indias coach following the T20 World Cup the BCCI has kickstarted the application process for the same. Noteworthy contenders like Mahela Jayawardene Stephen Fleming Gautam Gambhir and Justin Langer are vying for the coveted position.
Ponting stated on an edition of the ICC Review that being the coach of a national team would entail giving up coaching in the IPL. He also mentioned that it would keep him away from home for an extended amount of time.
“I’ve seen a lot of reports about it,” the Tasmanian said. “Normally these things pop up on social media before you even know about them, but there were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it. I’d love to be a senior coach of a national team, but with the other things that I have in my life and wanting to have a bit of time at home…everyone knows if you take a job working with the Indian team you can’t be involved in an IPL team, so it would take that out of it as well.”
Ricky Ponting
He added:
“Also, a national head coach is a 10 or 11-month of the year job, and as much as I’d like to do it, it just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle right now and the things that I really enjoy doing.”
Ricky Ponting
The twotime World Cup winning captain has made a mark coaching the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. His invaluable contributions were also felt within Australias support staff during the 2019 World Cup.
“My family and my kids have spent the last 5 weeks over at the IPL with me” – Ricky Ponting
In the same interview, Ponting said that his son had aggressively encouraged him to accept the Team India coaching position, considering how much his family wanted to go to India for a few years. He added:
“My family and my kids have spent the last five weeks over at the IPL with me and they come over every year and I had a whisper to my son about it, and I said, ‘Dad’s been offered the Indian coaching job’ and he said, ‘Just take it dad, we would love to move over there for the next couple of years. That’s how much they love being over there and the culture of cricket in India, but right now it probably doesn’t exactly fit into my lifestyle.”
Ricky Ponting
Ponting’s Delhi Capitals had their moments in the IPL 2024, but they finally finished sixth on 14 points table.