Former Delhi Capitals head coach, and Australia’s legendary skipper Ricky Ponting has been appointed as the head coach of the IPL side Punjab Kings (PBKS). Ponting ended his association with the Delhi Capitals franchise after serving them for a period of 7 long years.
Presumably, Ponting and Punjab, a franchise with several owners, have inked a multi-year deal. It is anticipated that Ponting will make the final decision about the other coaching personnel. Who among the coaching group from the previous year remains in place is still unknown. Sunil Joshi (spin-bowling coach), Charl Langveldt (fast-bowling coach), Sanjay Bangar (head of cricket development), and Trevor Bayliss (head coach) were part of the Kings during the previous season.
At Punjab, who were eighth in the 2024 season, Ponting will be the sixth head coach in seven years. Since finishing as runners-up in 2014, they have not qualified for the IPL playoffs. Making a shortlist of players who might be kept for the following season would be Ponting’s first task while the teams wait for the IPL to finalize the retention regulations.
Among Punjab’s standout players from the previous season were Harshal Patel, who earned the purple cap for the second time in the IPL, and the two uncapped Indian players, Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh. Along with a good group of international players, including the England trio of Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Johnny Bairstow, and South Africa’s quick Kagiso Rabada, Punjab also includes wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, legspinner Rahul Chahar, and left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh of India.
Shikhar Dhawan recently announced his retirement, therefore Punjab will also be looking to find a new captain.
Since the IPL’s inception in 2008, Ponting has been a part of the league. He began his career with the Kolkata Knight Riders as a player, then moved on to the Mumbai Indians, where he eventually resigned as captain in the middle of the 2013 season to make room for Rohit Sharma. Mumbai prevailed that year, and Ponting, who had continued as an advisor in 2014, took over as head coach for two seasons in 2015 and 2016 after that.
After taking over as head coach of Delhi Capitals in 2018, Ponting led the Capitals to three straight playoff appearances between 2019 and 2021, and in 2020 they made it to their first IPL final. Following his July separation from DC, Ponting served as head coach for the Washington Freedom’s championship-winning campaign this year.
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