"My Availability...": Ponting Breaks Silence On Split With Delhi Capitals

After his appointment as the head coach of Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting opened up on his exit from the Delhi Capitals (DC) coaching setup, saying that his availability had become an issue and the franchise wanted him to operate as a full-time head coach. Ponting has been named the new head coach of Punjab Kings (PBKS) starting from IPL 2025, following his departure from Delhi Capitals two months ago, ending a seven-year stint with the franchise. Ponting becomes the third head coach in four seasons for Punjab Kings, who finished ninth in the 2024 IPL season. The team has not made the playoffs since 2014, when they were runners-up. One of Ponting's initial tasks will be to identify players for retention ahead of the next season, pending the finalisation of the IPL's retention rules.

Ponting's IPL journey began as a player with Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural 2008 season. He later joined the Mumbai Indians, where he relinquished the captaincy mid-season in 2013, allowing Rohit Sharma to take over and lead the team to their first title that year. Ponting continued in an advisory role in 2014 and served as head coach in 2015 and 2016.

In 2018, Ponting took over as head coach of the Delhi Capitals, guiding them to three consecutive playoff appearances from 2019 to 2021, including their maiden final in 2020.

After his tenure with the Delhi Capitals ended in July 2024, Ponting led the Washington Freedom to a title-winning campaign in the Major League Cricket (MLC).

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Ponting said that he managed to create a "family environment" during his stint with the Capitals.

"I felt like we created a really good family environment there. As I said, I understand what they want; they said to me that my availability was becoming an issue. And they wanted to pretty much have a full-time head coach. I could not commit to that, so I was disappointed that it ended, but I understand the direction they wanted to head going forward," said Ponting.

"Everyone that I have been there with, has had a great time. You have only to look at some of the social media posts that Delhi put out straightaway to understand that a lot of the people involved in the franchise were disappointed that I wasn't continuing as well. But the decisions were made," he added.

Ponting said that the pressure of winning a trophy weighs heavy on a coach, but he wants that pressure.

"That is the thing that makes coaching inviting to me. I like having that pressure. It is as close to getting back to playing as you can possibly get. From the moment I finished playing, when that competition stops in your life, it is really hard to replace that again. The closest thing I could find to playing was getting back in the cricket team's changing room being a coach and feeling like you are actually playing again. And coaching against guys that I might have played against and guys that are coaching that I played against--I want to beat them. Simple. A cricket changing room is where I'm supposed to be," he added.

Ponting acknowledged that he made a lot of great memories during his IPL journey, calling coaching MI an "awesome experience." He also said that DC changing room was a "special place" even without a trophy.

"But we made a couple of big slip-ups in our mega-auction a couple of years ago [2022] and even probably our player retentions, and that set us back quite a way. And even this year [2024], little things went against us again, with Rishabh [Pant, DC captain] being suspended for a game that we had to win. We missed the playoffs on run rate. Little things like that add up. The results in T20 games are decided by really small margins. And then our season can be defined by really small margins as well. And we have been on the wrong end of those for a couple of years at DC," he added.

On the evolution of coaching in the IPL, Ponting said that coaching has become more specific now and teams are covering every base by appointing coaches for different roles.

"So you have a lot of the best coaches in the world there at once. And when you have the best coaches and the best players, you are guaranteed to have high-quality cricket. What the IPL has done by having all of these coaches is, I think, the reason that India are actually as good as they are. There has always been that talent in India, but to have that talent around the best coaches for two or three months every year has helped them become better players," he added.

Ponting said that a lot of IPL franchises are trying to have a full-time coaching staff, something he considered not doing because he would not have been available during the off-season due to other commitments and family time.

Key performers for Punjab last season included Harshal Patel, who won the Purple Cap for the second time, and the uncapped Indian players Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma.

The squad also features notable talents like left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, and a strong contingent of overseas players, including England's Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, and South African pacer Kagiso Rabada.

With the recent retirement of Shikhar Dhawan, identifying a new captain will also be a priority for Ponting and the team management.

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