Since parting ways with the Delhi Capitals (DC) as their head coach ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, is looking for a new role in the other franchises of the league.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is one of the teams that has been looking for a veteran to join them as the new mentor after Gautam Gambhir left them, becoming the new head coach of the Indian side. The defending champions made a great turnaround in the last season by winning their third trophy of the league after a wait of ten years.
Ricky Ponting, already having a very good relationship with the KKR captain, Shreyas Iyer, during their early years in the Delhi team, could be eyeing to get the job of the three-time champions.
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Ricky Ponting didn’t have a great start in his IPL career for the coaching role, but he made a great return towards the middle of his stint, when the Capitals finished as the runners-up of the 2020 season after losing the final to Mumbai Indians, while they also reached the playoffs in the following year.
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The Knight Riders have already lost the lion’s share of their coaching panel. Gambhir has joined the Indian team besides which he has also carried Ryan Ten Doeschate and Abhishek Nayar with him on the national side.
The local newspaper, Sangbad Protidin, earlier in the week, also reported that the purple franchise has been looking to get one of the former South African all-rounders, Jacques Kallis, or the two-time World Cup winning captain, Ricky Ponting, for a mentor role, given both of them were part of their set-up in the past and could easily gel with the environment.
With these rumors blowing around, the Tasmania-born has dropped a clue regarding his return to the lead for the 2025 season. He shared that a few of the teams have been in talks with him, and he would bring more information to the public soon in the future once the deal is completed.
“There might be a few opportunities coming up in IPL, and we’ll see what happens over the next few weeks.” The former Australian coach said during an interaction with Sky Sports.
Having said that Punjab Kings (PBKS) is also looking to hire a new coach for the 18th season of the league, as a few reports have claimed, but there has been news of an Indian coach potentially being on their radar.
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have already earned the services of the former left-handed Indian pace bowler Zaheer Khan for the mentorship, replacing Gambhir, who was with the KL Rahul-led side during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The T20 World Cup-winning coach, Rahul Dravid, has also shaken hands with his former franchise, Rajasthan Royals.
Ricky Ponting didn’t enjoy a great time with the bat for the KKR side when he collected only 39 runs in four games during the inaugural edition in 2008. But, as the new mentor of the side, he could be one of the vital members of the team, especially for the young bowlers and batters.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to announce the rules of the retentions before the mega auction of the tournament in the upcoming few weeks of September, after which the franchise could announce its new head coach.