(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Australian legend Ricky Ponting has disclosed that he was approached to be India's next head coach. Although he expressed considerable interest in the position, he mentioned that it is "unlikely" he will take up the role due to the extensive commitment it demands.
Applications for the position close on May 27, the day following the IPL 2024 final. Reports previously stated that current head coach Rahul Dravid will not be seeking another term.
Ponting mentioned that he still harbors ambitions to become a national coach. However, with his current commitments as the head coach at Delhi Capitals and his television engagements in Australia, he feels that the timing isn't conducive for him to pursue the role at the moment.
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"I've seen a lot of reports about it," Ponting told the ICC Review. "Normally these things pop up on social media before you even know about them, but 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."
"I'd love to be a senior coach of a national team, but with the other things that I have in my life and wanting to have a bit of time at home...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 as well. Also, a national head coach is a 10 or 11-month of the year job, and as much as I'd like to do it, it just doesn't fit into my lifestyle right now and the things that I really enjoy doing," the former Australian skipper added.
The BCCI has approached Gautam Gambhir for the position, while other names such as Stephen Fleming and Justin Langer have also been linked to it. However, Ponting hinted at a possibility by mentioning that his young son Fletcher responded positively to the idea of him taking on the job.
"My family and my kids have spent the last five weeks over at the IPL with me and they come over every year and 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'" he said. "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."
Ponting's current roles extend beyond coaching the Delhi Capitals. He serves as the head of strategy at Hobart Hurricanes and is the head coach of Washington Freedom in MLC, having secured a two-year deal for that tournament, which follows immediately after the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. Previously, he has also been involved with Australia's T20I and ODI sides.
The BCCI has clarified that the head coach position will encompass all three formats for a term of three and a half years, commencing from July 2024 until December 2027.
Dravid commenced his two-year tenure after the 2021 T20 World Cup. Initially set to conclude after the 2023 ODI World Cup in November last year, he agreed to an extension until the culmination of the forthcoming T20 World Cup.
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