Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has disclosed that he was approached to take on the role of head cricket coach for India, but due to the extensive demands of the position, he is unlikely to accept it.
Ponting, aged 49, currently serves as the head coach of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, and also has television commitments in Australia. Additionally, he holds the position of head of strategy at Hobart Hurricanes for Australia's Big Bash League and is the head coach of Washington Freedom in the US Major League Cricket tournament.
Ponting was quoted by the International Cricket Council website saying, 'I've seen a lot of reports about it. There were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it.'
He further added, 'Everyone knows if you take a job working with the Indian team you can't be involved in an IPL team, so it would take that out of it.'
Ponting explained that taking on the role of a national coach would require dedicating up to 11 months of the year to the job, which does not align with his current lifestyle and the activities he enjoys. He expressed his desire to do it but admitted that it does not fit into his lifestyle at present.
The India coach job, currently held by Rahul Dravid, will become vacant after the T20 World Cup in June, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India seeking a replacement until the next 50-over World Cup in 2027. India has not secured a global title since the 2013 Champions Trophy under their last foreign coach, Duncan Fletcher of Zimbabwe.
According to local media reports, former India batsman Gautam Gambhir, former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming, and Australian Justin Langer have also been considered for the job.
Ponting shared that his son was enthusiastic about the prospect of him becoming the India coach. He mentioned, 'I had a whisper to my son about it, and I said, 'Dad's been offered the Indian coaching job' and he said, 'Just take it dad, we would love to move over there for the next couple of years.' That's how much they love being over there and the culture of cricket in India, but right now it probably doesn't exactly fit into my lifestyle.'
