New Delhi: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is set to make a swift return to the Indian Premier League in less than a year following his sacking at Delhi Capitals. Ponting, who was part of the Capitals franchise as the head coach for seven years since 2018, left the team earlier this year after a couple of underwhelming seasons with the team.
Punjab Kings officially announced the appointment of Ponting, who will take charge of the team for the 2025 season and beyond.
Ponting has reportedly signed a multi-year deal with Punjab Kings. The Aussie legend reportedly has been in talks with the Punjab franchise for the head coach job. Ponting is likely to take the final call on the rest of the coaching staff.
While current head coach Trevor Bayliss, who guided Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles and England to the 2019 ODI World Cup, is all but certain to be removed from the head coach post, the futures of Sanjay Bangar (head of cricket development), Charl Langeveldt (fast-bowling coach), Sunil Joshi (spin-bowling coach) remains unclear.
Under Ponting’s leadership, Capitals had reached the Playoffs in 2019, 2020 and 2021 while in 2020, Capitals had reached their maiden IPL final.
Another leadership change at Punjab Kings
Ponting becomes the third head coach in four seasons at the Mohali-based franchise, which endured a horrendous outing in IPL 2024. It seems, PBKS’ ninth-placed finish in the 10-team table became the first and the final nail in the coffin for Bayliss, who took charge of the team ahead of IPL 2023.
Ponting faces the herculean task of reversing the fortunes of a team that hasn’t qualified for the IPL playoffs since 2014 when they finished runners-up. The Aussie legend’s first task would be finalising a list of players who could be potentially retained for the next season.
Another burning issue would be to identify a new captain of the franchise following the retirement of Shikhar Dhawan.
According to report, former Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting will return to resume IPL duties albeit with a different franchise. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
