Ricky Ponting explains reason why he turned down Team India head coach offer
Ricky Ponting will continue to be associated with Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL.
Not long ago, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has expressed their interest to look out for a new head coach. Rahul Dravid’s tenure as India’s head coach comes to a close post the T20 World Cup 2024. BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated that Dravid can still re-apply for the same role while also adding that the board is on the hunt for a new cricketing brain to take care of Indian for a three and a half years.
In this period, Team India will be playing the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 followed by ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2027. Several names such as VVS Laxman, Justin Langer Gautam Gambhir and Stephen Fleming popped up when the BCCI invited the applicants for the head coach role.
Meanwhile, the most recent name that followed up is former Australian captain Ricky Ponting. The senior pro who is currently serving as the Delhi Capitals IPL franchise head coach disclosed that he was approached for Team India head coach position. Needless to say, the two-time ODI World Cup-winning champion declined the offer.
It just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle right now: Ricky Ponting
Being the head coach of Team India is certainly the biggest job in the cricketing world and the expectations are always high. The Australian batting great has turned down the offer citing “life style reasons”. For the unversed, Ponting has been working as the head coach of Delhi Capitals for seven seasons. Prior to that, he plied his trade as Australia’s interim T20 coach.
In a conversation with the ICC, the DC head coach explained why he turned down the offer. He stated that it is extremely tiring to work as a national head coach since one has to work 10 to 11 months annually. Furthermore, he added that the demanding job doesn’t fit into his lifestyle at the moment.
“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,” Ponting explained.
“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,” he further added.
