Ricky Ponting was announced as Punjab Kings’ new head coach just three months after he parted ways with Delhi Capitals.
Ricky Ponting is set to take charge as head coach of the Punjab Kings in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it looks like one of his unfulfilled desires at Delhi Capitals would come true as soon as he joins the team. PBKS opener Prabhsimran Singh has revealed that the former Australia captain always wanted to trade him to DC while the latter was their coach.
Ricky Ponting was head coach of DC for seven years(Getty Images)
Prabhsimran was one of just three players that PBKS retained ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. The franchise was the only team to have not retained any capped players. “He had called me and we had a very good conversation. He told me straightaway that he was trying for the past three years to get me on a trade to Delhi Capitals. He then said that he is now very excited to work with me,” said the opener on Sports Tak.
“I also told him that I am looking forward to learning a lot of things from him. So now that the franchise has put this kind of faith in me I will try to get as many good starts as possible and win as many matches as I can on my performances,” he further said.
PBKS make a fresh start again with Ponting
Ponting was announced as PBKS head coach about three months after parted ways with DC, ending a seven-year association with the franchise. Ponting is Punjab’s sixth head coach in the last seven seasons. The franchise has made the playoffs only twice in IPL history, none in the last 10 years. In 2024, they finished ninth in the table.
Punjab retained the uncapped power-hitting duo of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma apart from Prabhsimran. Both players turned out to be revelations for them in 2024 season and was among the few bright spots in last year’s tournament for Punjab. However, their decision to let go of a number of key performers, including fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel, raised a lot of eyebrows.
