IPL 2024: DC head coach Ricky Ponting discusses the Impact Player regulation

The Delhi Capitals’ head coach, Ricky Ponting, offered his thoughts on the current discussion concerning the IPL’s “Impact Player” regulation. Even though teams are permitted to replace one player from the starting lineup during a game, Ponting thinks that high-scoring matches will continue even if the provision is lifted. He voiced his opinions during the publication of Pravin Amre’s autobiography, the batting coach for the Delhi Capitals.

While acknowledging the possible buffer that the Impact Player rule offers to top-order hitters, Ponting emphasised that players such as Travis Head and Jake Fraser-McGurk are inherently aggressive. Even though the rule affects team tactics, Ponting doesn’t think there will be a noticeable decrease in points.

“There is discussion about whether the scores would drop once more if the impact player leaves the IPL. I would like to see that. “I’m not sure they will,” Ricky Ponting remarked on Monday at the book “Zero FOR 5: The Thrilling Cricket Journey of Pravin Amre,” which was written by the batting coach for the Delhi Capitals, Pravin Amre.

“Yes, the impact player gives the guys at the top a little cushion, but I believe that’s because they’re so accustomed to playing a certain way when they go out.”

“I mean imagine trying to tell Jake Fraser-McGurk to play a different way or tell Travis Head to be a little bit defensive, that’s just not going to happen,” he said.

He also discussed the difficulties franchise coaches confront, pointing out that one major obstacle is the diversity of nationalities among players. Because there is less time for player contact and skill development when coaching a franchise, Ricky Ponting considers it more demanding than leading a national team.

“I think it is a lot more difficult being a coach of a franchise team because the different nationalities involved, a few Australian coaches, couple of Australian players, couple of South African players, we have New Zealanders, we have Nepalese part of our squad over the journey,” he stated.

“The most challenging aspect of being a coach for the club is that you only get to spend a few days with the players before the season starts, which makes it difficult to build a culture around the team during that brief period of time. It’s quite difficult to accomplish that and to make significant skill changes in such a short amount of time,” he continued.

In Test match cricket, there’s still room for purist batsmen: Ricky Ponting

Ponting observed that as the game progressed, there was less room for batters who used traditional methods. He gave players like Virat Kohli and Joe Root credit for sticking to traditional methods in a T20-dominated game that is developing rapidly.

“There still is room for purist batsmen in Test match cricket, but that’s going to be less and less,” he said.

“In the last 10 years there is not a lot of classical technique in the modern day batters, you look at the absolute best now, Joe Root is probably the most classical one,” “Stephen Smith, what he has done over the years has been a little bit different, Marnus Labuschagne has been a bit different with the way he plays, Virat is classically, technically very good as well, but I think there is a bit of a shift,” he stated.

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In his book, Delhi Capitals batting coach Pravin Amre emphasised the value of mentoring. As the Mumbai Ranji trophy team’s coach, he narrated a vital incident in which the team’s tenacity and faith produced an amazing comeback in a match that mattered a lot.