Punjab Kings will enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction not just with the biggest purse among the 10 franchises but also with a new coach in former Australia captain and batting legend Ricky Ponting, one of the finest brains in the game.
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Ponting took a break from his duty as a commentator for the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy in Perth to lead the team’s think-tank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the two-day auction begins on Sunday.
Ponting, Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer and Sunrisers Hydearabad coach Daniel Vettori, who is also Australia’s assitant coach left the first BGT Test midway to fly to Jeddah.
Ponting, who led the other norther India franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) for eight years, was appointed the Punjab coach in September.
He preferred to be called “Punjabi punter” when playfully asked about his role with Punjab in a video posted by IPL on Instagram.
“I haven’t learned any Punjabi yet. I am obviously going there as a cricket coach. So I can coach the players some cricket, maybe they can teach me some Punjabi back,” said Poniting. “I am excited about this little phase in my IPL coaching career, so it should be a lot of fun.”
Punjab, who are still waiting to win their maiden IPL title, haven’t tasted much success in the league; and Ponting hopes to change that history.
“It’s bviously a team that hasn’t had so much success in the IPL. I have been lucky to be around a few pretty successful teams — MI (Mumbai Indians) for a few years and then DC, where we had a good run, making the playoffs there,” said Ponting, who led Australia to ODI World Cup triumphs and played 168 Tests, while scoring 71 centuries collectively in the two formats.
“It’s mainly to be able to start from scratch pretty much, make the franchise one of the powerhouses of the IPL and really just to make it one of the dynamic, fun-loving environment that everyone wants to be part of. When people sit back and watch us play, they can see how much our team is really enjoying ourselves,” he added.
Talking about the auction at the Abadi Al Johar Arena, where Punjab Kings will sit with the heaviest purse of Rs 110.5 crore, he said that the event might see “Ponting the aggressive bidder”.
Punjab spent just INR 9.5 core in the retention window to retain Shashank Singh (Rs. 5.5 crore) and Prabhsimran Singh (Rs. 4 crore).
“You might do (see) that beause as everyone knows we’ve got the biggest purse going into the auction,” said the 49-year-old former batter.
He then shared three things Punjab will be focusing on during the auction.
“I think the three most crucial things with a successful auction….one is definitely making sure you stick to your strategy and not getting off early on,” said the Australia.
“I think being really calm and really clear at the auction table is an important thing, and then communication on the day because you are working with your analyst, you are working with your owners. Communication is vital,” he added.
“I am not sure if I am going to have the paddle or not. I think one of the owners might have the paddle; I’ll have to say yes or no and hopefully get things right.”
The auction begins at 3:30 pm IST on Sunday.
