New Delhi: Australia legend Ricky Ponting was approached during the IPL about whether he would be interested in the India coaching position set to be left vacant by Rahul Dravid.
Ponting just finished his seventh season as coach of the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League and the former Australian captain had mixed fortunes during this year’s tournament with his side narrowly missing out on the playoffs.
Despite having enjoyed coaching stints in the IPL with Mumbai and Delhi and filling in as Australia's national T20I coach on an interim basis in the past, Ponting has so far resisted the urge to take on the rigours of a high-profile national team on a full-time basis.
But with Dravid's time as India's head coach seemingly coming to an end and last year's ICC World Test Championship runners-up on the lookout for a new person to take the reins, Ponting is among a host of former greats to have been approached about the role.
"I've seen a lot of reports about it,” Ponting told the ICC. “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," he said.
"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," Ponting said.
Ponting is one of many former greats to have been linked to the India coaching job, with fellow IPL coaches Justin Langer and Stephen Fleming other names to have been floated.
"I've seen a few other names thrown about as well. Justin Langer's name got thrown in yesterday, Stephen Fleming’s name has been thrown about a little bit," Ponting noted.
"Gautam Gambhir’s name has been thrown around a little bit the last couple of days as well. But I think it'd be unlikely for me just on the reasons that I've given there," Ponting said.
Ponting has his family travelling with him during his recent stint in Delhi, and said there was a moment when he floated the idea of him becoming India's coach to his son and youngest child Fletcher.
"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’" Ponting laughed.
"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," he added.
