Sourav Ganguly has said that Delhi Capitals haven’t been able to move forward under Ricky Ponting.
On Saturday, the Delhi Capitals officially announced the end of their association with Ricky Ponting. But did you know that it was Sourav Ganguly who first informed about the development? In an interview with Bangla daily AajKaal, the DC manager ‘broke the news’. Ponting, whose seven-year-long association with the Capitals as their head coach began in 2018, came to an end on July 14, with Ganguly reacting strongly about the former Australian captain’s performance during his time in charge.
Delhi Capitals’s Director of Cricket and mentor Sourav Ganguly (L) with former head coach Ricky Ponting.(AFP)
Under Ponting, the Capitals made a forgettable start in 2018, ending with the wooden spoon. The subsequent years were much better, as they finished third in 2019, runner-up in 2020 and made it to a third consecutive Playoffs in 2021. However, the last three seasons have been average, with DC finishing 5th, 9th and 6th in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Sharing inputs of the legendary Geoffrey Boycott, Ganguly threw Ponting, his former DC colleague, under the bus, sounding critical of the three-time World Cup-winning Australian.
“Let me give you some news. Ricky Ponting won’t be the DC coach anymore. Geoffrey Boycott is absolutely right! Ponting has not taken DC forward in these seven years. You need to talk to the management. I would suggest looking at Indian options for the coach,” Ganguly said.
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DC is one of the three teams from the original eight to have never won a single IPL title and the end of Ponting’s tenure indicates that the franchise is looking at someone else. Ponting’s departure vacates the head coach position, for which Ganguly himself is keen on applying. Having served administrative role as president of the BCCI from 2019 to 2021 and the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) before that, it looks as if Ganguly is keen to come back to cricket, working closely with the DC unit.
“Why not me? Let’s see if I can do it or not. We need to rope in some new players. I wanted to bring in England’s new star Jamie Smith for DC’s SA20 side (Pretoria Capitals). He was even ready to come in, but then England will be busy for their India tour at that time,” Ganguly added.
Sourav Ganguly’s IPL journey
It’s interesting to note that if Ganguly lands the gig, it will be his first one as coach in any format or tournament. Ganguly, who debuted with the Capitals in 2019 as an advisor, had to relinquish the post due to bigger commitments. However, he made a return to the franchise last year as Director of Cricket and is overseeing DC’s sister franchises, ILT20 team Dubai Capitals and the SA T20 league side Pretoria Capitals.
The Delhi Capitals is Ganguly’s third tie-up with an IPL franchise. He led Kolkata Knight Riders in the first season of IPL in 2008 before being removed as captain the following year in South Africa. After the team finished last in 2009, Ganguly was reinstated as captain for the 2010 season, which ended up being his swansong at KKR. The franchise decided not to pick Ganguly at the auction despite Ganguly scoring 493 runs, but Dada found support in Pune Warriors India. Yet, after scoring 50 runs in 4 matches, Ganguly served as Pune’s captain and mentor in 2012 before he announced his retirement from IPL later that year.
