Hyderabad: Former Australian World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting has been appointed as the head coach of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Punjab Kings.
While an official confirmation (at the time of writing) from either party is expected soon, it is understood from sources that the Australian has signed a multi-year contract with Punjab Kings after ending a seven-year association with Delhi Capitals.
Ponting is Punjab Kings’ sixth coach in seven seasons.
The astute Australian will hold discussions on the support staff in the coming days. Last year Punjab Kings operated with Trevor Bayliss as the head coach and Sanjay Bangar as the head of cricket development with Charl Langveldt assisting the franchise as the fast-bowling coach while former Indian spinner Sunil Joshi was the spin-bowling coach.
Ponting has been associated with the Indian Premier League since the league’s inception. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders and then with Mumbai Indians. He led Mumbai Indians in 2013 and then let Rohit Sharma take over the captaincy duties from him midseason.
He served Mumbai Indians as an advisor in 2014 and then became the head coach of the franchise in 2015. He coached Mumbai Indians for two seasons and then went to Delhi Capitals in 2018.
Under his guidance, Delhi Capitals qualified for the playoffs in three consecutive seasons – 2019 to 2021 – and even made it to the final in the 2020 edition.
The 59-year-old former player was in charge of Delhi Capitals till the 2024 season and moved to Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket in the USA. Washington Freedom won the title in 2024.
The last time Punjab Kings made it to the playoffs was in 2014 and Ponting would be keen to turn that statistic around. Ponting will also be on the lookout for a new captain for the franchise after Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement earlier this year.
Ponting’s initial task will also be finalising the players who will be retained by the franchise ahead of the auction and also creating a good talent pool, apart from a winning team and a strong bench.
