Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting, who is regarded as one of the best and most successful captains in the history of cricket, has recently opened up about the tough but right time when he gave up captaincy to Michael Clarke after leading the country to incredible heights across the formats.
Besides being a talented batsman, Ponting, undoubtedly Australia’s best captain in all formats of the game, was an exceptional leader, who led by an example and won back to back World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007. He was also part of Australia's 1999 World Cup triumph.
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Ponting can be also easily considered as the most successful captain in the history of international cricket having led Australia to many accolades on the field – 219 wins off the 322 matches.
Despite such incredible record as Australia captain, he decided to step down after Australia failed to cross the semi-final hurdle in the 2011 edition of the World Cup even though no one asked for the same.
Well, the legendary cricket did it for the best interest of his country, though, he admitted giving up captaincy hurt him but felt that was the right time to give the opportunity to someone else.
Ponting told Sky Sports: “Did it hurt? Yes. Giving it up to hurt. I think I realized it was the right time for Australian cricket. I want to give the next captain the appropriate time to go into the next couple of big tournaments. I wanted to ensure Michael (Clarke) had enough time to be the best captain he can be in the next big event.”
He further added: “It was really touching and go that would make it to the next Ashes. I thought it was the right time to give it up and give Michael every opportunity. I made a hundred in the World Cup quarter-final and I was still playing well. There were a few eyebrows raised when I said I would like to play on.”
The Aussie also revealed that the major reason to stay a player after stepping down as captain was to help the youngsters, as a lot of new players were coming in and he felt being around would help them.
Ponting signed off, “The major reason I played on is that there were a lot of young guys coming in at the time and I wanted to make sure I was around to help them. Believe me, there was nothing left for me to achieve in the game and I was only around for what I thought was best for Australian cricket.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)
