Widely regarded as one of the sharpest cricketing brains in the world, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has left a lasting impression as coach in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After scripting success stories with Mumbai Indians, Ponting was signed by Delhi Capitals as head coach in 2018 and the Australian legend has been quite impactful in his role.
Under Ponting, the Delhi-based franchise qualified for the playoffs in 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. In fact, DC made their maiden IPL final appearance in the 2020 edition of IPL.
Ahead of the IPL 2023 season, starting March 31, Ponting has said that his job is to not just make young Indian players better but make them better human being as well.
The DC head coach highlighted the importance of living a disciplined life off the field to get fruitful results on the field.
"The better person you are, it is easy to become a better player. If you haven't got your personal life in order, it is really difficult to become a disciplined performer on the field," Ponting said at a promotional event of IPL franchise Delhi Capitals on Friday (March 24).
"I think it is a lot different in our country than it is here and thing about IPL is you see so many younger players get an opportunity that they might not be ready for. I mean they might be ready for cricket side of it but lot of guys are not ready for what comes with that. Looking back at my career, it was the same with me," he added.
"I guess there wasn't as much spotlight on me as it is on some young Indian guys. Just due to sheer amount of numbers and things like that, but I think for me, it is about letting players understand how big it is to what they are doing in public eyes.
"And at times, you want to play cricket, represent your franchise, your country and sometimes you don't see the bigger picture and it's how everyone perceives you in real world," he explained.
For Ponting, the effort is to show the younger lot the bigger picture about life and sport.
"The IPL for a lot of these youngsters is not real world and there are lot of other stuff happening out there and it is not to think about. My job is to make them better players but my job is also to make them better people as well and that's a bigger part."
Having been associated with Delhi Capitals as head coach for almost five years, Ricky Ponting has seen heartbreaks among youngsters aspiring to play for India.
With the 50-over World Cup slated to be held in India later this year, Ponting advised the young players to just focus on what's in their control.
"Ideally, anyone we bring into DC franchise wants to play for India and we want them to have the drive and passion of the best that they can be and every time they get an opportunity to play for us, they win games for us and when you win games for Delhi, you are giving yourself best chance to be in that World Cup squad," Ponting stated.
"One thing I stress to the young guys is that if they start looking too far ahead and start thinking about World Cups... you have to start being in present and play your role for the team. It's my duty to get these guys ready and win games for us. The other selections (national) are out of my hands."
(With PTI Inputs)
