Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has revealed that some people to whom he was talking during the IPL 2021, really wanted to make things work and get him on board as the new Indian coach.
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.
