Darren Lehmann, the former Australia men’s cricket team head coach, has revealed he wanted Ricky Ponting to manage the Australian Twenty20 team during his tenure as coach.
Darren Lehmann wanted the former Aussie captain in the T20 head coach role before the Sandpaper Gate scandal blew up Australian cricket during the 2018 tour of South Africa. Darren Lehmann maintains that the coaching roles should be split.
Darren Lehmann Thought He Coached Too Long
“I look back now and I think I coached too long,” Lehmann told the Herald and The Age. “I probably should have bowed out 12 months before that. I reckon four years is a good cycle when you’re away from home 300 days a year.”
“If you split the role there is more longevity because you don’t have to do everything. And it has to be done properly so the T20 team can specialise. That’s just sensible.”
An assistant coach to Darren Lehmann at times through the 2017-18 summer and subsequent white-ball tour of New Zealand, Ricky Ponting made it clear he was keen to be Australia’s T20 coach.
Ricky Ponting: Appointment Of Justin Langer To Replace Darren Lehmann Across All 3 Formats Was The Right Decision
Having won an IPL title coaching the Mumbai Indians, Ricky Ponting is currently coaching the Delhi Capitals in the UAE, who sit on top of the table. He said he was “very interested” at the time.
“I had a few chats with Pat Howard. It never got to the detail of specifics, timing, resources, structure etc as there was no time pressure for that to happen,” Ponting said. “It was an open-ended discussion.”
“However the events in South Africa in March 2018 led to so much change in Australian cricket and the appointment of Justin Langer to replace Darren Lehmann, across all three forms, was absolutely the right decision.”
“My life has changed a lot since then. IPL continues to be my coaching priority and it works well with my media commitments with the Seven Network, Cricket Australia and Sky in the UK.”
“The rest of the year is spent with my family and enjoying a work/life balance that I have never had before. Right now, I would have to give up so much to take on a national role. It’s just the wrong time for me.”
The incident later went on to be labelled as the ‘Sandpaper Gate’ and is considered as one of the darkest moments in the history of Australian cricket. Australia went on to lose the match, and Cricket Australia took some bold calls as they first removed the captain and vice-captain of the side. Later, the Australian cricket board handed a one-year ban to both Steve Smith and David Warner, while Cameron Bancroft was given a nine-month suspension. Australia coach Darren Lehmann also resigned after the episode.
Ricky Ponting took over the head coach of Delhi Capitals in 2018, and the side finished last in the season, but he has taken Delhi Capitals to third position in 2019 and second position in 2020. Delhi Capitals have qualified for the playoffs in the current IPL season, and Ricky Ponting has been one of the main reasons for it.