Ricky Ponting, the former captain of Australia, has disclosed that he has been informed of speculation that he could take over as head coach of India following the tenure of Rahul Dravid. Following the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup in 2024, Dravid is expected to step down, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently seeking a replacement for the prominent position.
Being one of Australia’s greatest batsmen and three-time World Cup winners, Ponting’s name has been mentioned as a possible Dravid replacement. The seasoned cricket player talked candidly about the method used to gauge his level of interest.
“I’ve seen numerous reports regarding it. There were a few brief one-on-one talks during the IPL to gauge my enthusiasm in the idea of participating, but usually these things surface on social media before you ever hear about them “, he told ICC.
It simply doesn’t suit with my current lifestyle or my favorite activities: Ricky Ponting
After retiring from the IPL after seven seasons of playing with the Delhi Capitals (DC), Ponting has enjoyed success as a coach. He has also served as Australia’s interim coach on a few occasions. He values spending time with his family at home, thus he has thus far resisted the demands of a full-time worldwide career.
“I would really like to be a senior coach for a national team, but that would take away from the other things I have going on in my life and my desire to spend some time at home. As you are all aware, you cannot be a part of an IPL team if you accept a job with the Indian squad. Furthermore, he said, “As much as I’d like to, a national head coach only works 10 or 11 months out of the year, and it just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle right now or the things that I enjoy doing.”
The 49-year-old further disclosed that he even broached the subject of becoming India’s head coach with his little son Fletcher Ricky Ponting.
“My family and my kids have spent the last five weeks over at the IPL with me and they come over every year and I had a whisper to my son about it, and I said, ‘Dad’s been offered the Indian coaching job’ and he said, ‘Just take it, dad, we would love to move over there for the next couple of years’” Ricky Ponting continued.
He went on to enumerate the other names that have been linked to him, including Gautam Gambhir, Stephen Fleming, and his old Australian teammate Justin Langer.
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“A few more names have also been mentioned. Yesterday, Justin Langer’s name was mentioned, and Stephen Fleming’s name has been used sporadically. In recent days, Gautam Gambhir’s name has also been mentioned a little bit. However, based only on the arguments I made there, I don’t think that would be likely for me,” he said in closing.
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