Ponting was once in consideration for India head coach job, but withdrew his interest.
Ponting is regarded as one of the all-time great batters and captains in the world and has successfully coached Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. The two-time World Cup-winning captain realized the demanding nature of being team India head coach and withdrew whatever little interest he had.
"I had a couple of conversations with some people during the IPL about it (the head coach gig). The people I spoke to were pretty hell-bent to find a way to make it work. The first thing I said was that I can't give that much time, that means I can't coach in the IPL," Ponting said on The Grade Cricketer podcast.
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"I would have to give up the 7 stuff (Channel 7) in summer. It just can't work. But it’s nice to have people think that you can do these big jobs. But there's a lot more than comes with it other than just yes or no,” Ponting added.
Furthermore, Ponting was surprised that his one-time rival Rahul Dravid took up the job after Ravi Shastri’s tenure came to an end.
"Actually, I'm surprised that Dravid has taken it up as well. There was a lot of chat about how happy he was in his Under-19 role he had. I'm not sure about his family life but I'm sure he has got young kids. So I'm surprised that he took it but as I said, the people I spoke to were sure they got the right person so they were probably able to get Dravid to do it," added Ponting.