New Delhi: Delhi Capitals (DC) have made a significant change to their backroom staff ahead of the IPL mega auction later this year as they have parted ways with their head coach Ricky Ponting. DC on Saturday confirmed that Ponting has been sacked as head coach and will no longer be associated with the franchise. The decision came as a surprise for many considering Ponting has been at the helm for seven years for DC.
His seven-year stint at the franchise began with a lot of promise as Delhi Capitals played their maiden final in IPL 2020. However, the team failed to retain their dominance and has been far from consistent in the last few seasons. Delhi Capitals did manage to produce consistent performances under Ponting but failed to bring an end to their long-standing title drought.
Ponting joined Delhi Capitals before IPL 2018 and his first season with the franchise was far from a memorable one as the team failed to make it to the playoffs and Gautam Gambhir was sacked as captain midway through the campaign. Shreyas Iyer was appointed as the new captain and his appointment marked the beginning of a new era for the franchise.
DC made a quick turnaround in 2019 as they made it to the playoffs under Iyer where they lost in the Eliminator. DC went on to play their maiden final in the next season where they went down against Mumbai Indians. DC were without Iyer in IPL 2021 as the captain picked up an injury which saw the franchise hand over the reins to Rishabh Pant.
Despite Iyer returning in the second half of IPL 2021, DC retained Pant as captain and released Iyer ahead of the next season. Pant continues to lead DC, who have failed to reach the playoffs in the last three editions of the tournament while Iyer went on to lead KKR to their third IPL title this year. Under Ponting, DC have managed to reach the playoffs thrice and have played a single final in seven years.
What led to Ponting’s sacking?
The Delhi Capitals top brass was reportedly not happy with the team failing to win the IPL title despite being strong enough to reach the playoffs consistently. The DC management informed Ponting that they are rejigging the support staff after failing to win a single trophy in his seven years in charge of the team.
“The top brass of Delhi Capitals have intimated Ricky that they aren’t happy that the team didn’t win a championship in seven years and they are trying to look at rejigging the support staff. He won’t be continuing next year,” a source close to DC management was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The PTI report also added that DC also wanted Ponting to be more involved in the auction process and not join the team two weeks before the IPL.
As per reports, former India captain Sourav Ganguly might take over as the new head coach of the Delhi Capitals. Ganguly is currently associated with the franchise as their team director. If Ganguly replaces Ponting as the head coach, he will get a chance to rebuild the squad from the scratch in the upcoming mega auction.
Delhi Capitals confirmed on Saturday that they have parted ways with head coach Ricky Ponting, bringing an end to his seven-year stint at the franchise. A report has revealed the reason behind Ponting’s sacking. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
