Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has revealed that he was approached for Team India head coach’s position during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 but after giving it some thought he decided to turn it down realising the nature of the job and his time management.
“The people that I spoke to were pretty hell-bent on finding a way to make it work because first up, I can’t give up that time, that means I can’t coach in the IPL,” Ponting said on Grade Cricketer’s Podcast.
Ponting is surprised that Rahul Dravid took the head coach job of Team India. Rahul Dravid took over the role of head coach this month following Ravi Shastri’s exit after the T20 World Cup.
“There was a lot of chat about how happy he (Dravid) was [with] his academy role… I am not sure about his family life… I think he has got young kids… Anyway, so I am surprised that he took it. The people that I spoke to were sure they got the right person, so they were probably able to get Dravid to do it.”
I’d love to coach the Australian team: Ricky Ponting
The Delhi Capitals head coach also revealed that he would love to coach the Australian team if CA split the coaches as white-ball and red-ball teams. Ponting said “giving up 300 days a year is not something I would do” with a young family by his side.
“Time is the only thing that’s stopping me [from taking the job], to be honest,” Ponting told The Grade Cricketer podcast. “I’d love to coach the Australian team. But what I have done with my playing career was being away from family as much. I have a young family now, a seven-year-old boy, and to give up 300 days a year is not what I would do. That’s where the IPL works so well for me.
“To be able to coach 8-10 weeks in winter months, and to be able to come back and do the Channel 7 stuff in the summer. I have got enough work to keep me happy and to keep me around the game. But also be able to spend time with the family.
“Let’s see what they [CA] do, if they ever split the coaches among say, white-ball, and red-ball teams. I think everyone loves to coach the Australian team. I actually think, from my view, it’s almost an older man’s job and not for someone who has got a young family or for a person like Justin [Langer] where he is on the other end now where his family is all grown up and moved away. You are not giving up that side of your life. It’s over 300 days a year, a pretty hard job. Justin’s been under pressure since he took over the job, more so, the last few months. That’s the only thing that would stop me – the time commitment.”