Widely regarded as one of the sharpest cricketing brains, 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.
While working with the Capitals, Ponting also got to know former India captain Sourav Ganguly from close quarters. Notably, Ganguly had served as the mentor of DC in IPL 2019 and he is currently associated with the franchise as Director of Cricket.
It is worth mentioning here that Ponting and Ganguly were fierce rivals during their playing days. Both of them had plenty of face-offs, including the one during the Sydney Test in 2008, when the Australian great claimed a controversial catch.
Speaking on the DC podcast, Ponting opened up on his equation with Ganguly, citing that the latter was more of a rival when Steve Waugh was the captain of Australia.
"When you talk about rivalry, he was a bigger rival when Steve Waugh was the captain. They had a bit more edge than Sourav and I. We did play a lot against each other, we captained in the World Cup final against each other. But he was involved with DC back in 2019 when things really started to change. He went to the biggest seat in the last couple of years, and now he's back with us. We get on really well because we can see the bigger picture for this franchise, and what we have to do together to guarantee success for DC," Ponting stated.
Ricky Ponting also recalled the time when he had to captain Harbhajan Singh, one of his biggest rivals on the field, at Mumbai Indians.
"Regardless of if we're not good mates, when you're working in a team, you got to come together and focus on one direction. Leave the past behind, whatever's happened has happened. One of the best examples was when I went to Mumbai... one of my biggest on-field rivals was Harbhajan. Next minute, I'm walking in MI and captaining him! I'm catching off his bowling and hugging him! That's the really good thing about the IPL. The international rivalries are probably not as strong now because you're working with those guys," he added.
Delhi Capitals are enduring a dismal IPL 2023 campaign. Having lost seven of their 11 games, they are currently occupying the last spot on the points table featuring 10 teams.
