Following Rahul Dravid stepping in as head coach replacing Ravi Shastri, a new era in Indian cricket has begun. Dravid, one of the greatest hitters of all time, has also shown his worth as a coach. As a result, his standards are high. Although, it looks that the former Indian captain was not the first pick to head the national squad.
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has stated that he has been offered the position of head coach of India’s men’s squad for the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The cricket star went on to say that the individuals who contacted him were “pretty hell-bent” on bringing him on board. He did not accept the proposal, owing to workload concerns.
Ponting also stated that he does not want to quit his positions with the IPL franchise and Channel 7. “But [in this job] I am living in India for 300 days a year. Yeah, look I had a couple of conversations with some people during the IPL about it,” said Ponting.
I just can’t give up that time, it will mean I can’t coach in the IPL: Ponting
“You know the people I spoke to were pretty hell-bent on trying to find a way to make it work because the first thing I said was ‘I just can’t give up that time, it will mean I can’t coach in the IPL, I’ll have to give up [Channel] 7 stuff in the summer, it just can’t work’,” he added.
Ponting has done an amazing job as the head coach of IPL side Delhi Capitals. Since 2019, the Delhi-based team has advanced for the playoffs 3 times in a row, featuring the very first final appearance in 2020. Importantly, Ponting partnered with present BCCI president Sourav Ganguly in DC during the 2019 season as a team mentor.
Furthermore, Ricky Ponting expressed disbelief that Rahul Dravid accepted the position despite having a young family. “I’m surprised that Dravid has taken it up as well. There was a lot of chat about how happy he was in his Under-19 role he had. I’m not sure about his family life but I’m sure he has got young kids. So I’m surprised that he took it.”
