Punjab Kings (PBKS) have struggled to make their mark in the IPL since its inception in 2008, remaining one of the few franchises yet to lift the coveted trophy.In IPL 2024, they finished 9th in the league table, with only five wins in 14 matches. The failure to qualify for the playoffs prompted a massive revamp in the coaching staff by the management. In a big move, former Delhi Capitals coach and Australian legend Ricky Ponting joined Punjab Kings as their new head coach.
There's excitement over the appointment of ‘Punter’ among the Punjab Kings faithful, but former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif who was Ricky Ponting's assistant at Delhi Capitals for two seasons has thrown caution to the kings and suggested that the World Cup Winning captain might be past his best. Ricky Ponting arrives into the coaching role at Punjab Kings with a startling reputation, having led his former franchise Delhi Capitals to IPL 2020 final. But according to Mohammad Kaif, given the squad Delhi Capitals had, Ponting should have won a title in his seven seasons in charge of the franchise.
“I think Ponting would himself admit he could have done better because the team we made, me, Ganguly..I feel Ponting might have regretted that he would have done better because they did not win a trophy in those seven years,” said Mohammad Kaif about Ricky Ponting on ‘Cricket With Kaif’. Mohammad Kaif further warned Ponting's new employers in Punjab Kings suggesting that the Australian might be running out of ideas when it comes to coaching. “Ponting no longer had good game plans. Now, Ponting is a huge name. He is in that Sachin Tendulkar category. Now, if a franchise tells him 'thank you so much' and parts ways, that means they feel that he is looking flat with his game plans,” Mohammad Kaif revealed.
Mohammad Kaif in the chat on his social media further revealed that he wasn't impressed with Ricky Ponting and Punjab King's strategy of only retaining two uncapped players. “I felt they were wrong. What Ponting did is the same as previous PBKS coaches and I'm not a fan of that. They could have retained Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone,” revealed Mohammad Kaif. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals after Pontings exit have assembled a new-looking coaching team. Former all-rounder Hemang Badani was appointed as the head coach, while Venugopal Rao was roped in as the Director of Cricket of the team. World Cup-winning former pacer Munaf Patel joined the team as their bowling coach earlier in November. The team had earlier appointed former Karnataka stalwart Vijay Bharadwaj as their talent scout.
