Ricky Ponting at Idea Exchange: ‘Dhoni may be only one in IPL who doesn’t seek advice from the dugout ’

The owners have been terrific from the start. We did hours and hours of preparation leading up to the auction, spent three or four days in Riyadh, and had two good days at the auction table. Everything I’ve asked for around the team, including training camps and management people, has happened. We brought in a new bowling coach, James Hopes, who worked with me in Delhi for a long time. I made it clear to the owners, and they made it clear to me too, that this is my team, and we will run it the way I want, in conjunction with the owners’ input. At the end of the day, it is their team, but as far as cricket goes, I wanted it to be my team. I’m responsible for the wins and losses. Everyone’s buying into it, and the players have been terrific. Shreyas Iyer has added a lot with his experience and leadership qualities, which was important for me.

Sriram Veera: If you were a captain, how much involvement would you want a coach to have? How much do you think is being done with the football manager style we see now?

I may have made it sound like the whole team is all about me. It’s certainly not. I’m the head coach and responsible for wins and losses, but once the game starts, the team is handed over to the captain. The coach can do very little once the game starts. It was pretty clear with what we did at the auction by bringing Shreyas to this franchise, it was clear to me and the owners that we wanted the best possible Indian captain. We got our man. He’s been terrific around the group.

And I don’t think a cricket team coach has the same impact as a football team manager. I like to share my thoughts and ideas with the captain and a few senior players. We don’t necessarily include everyone in all tactical decisions, but the relationship between the captain and coach must be as strong as possible. That’s why I went for Shreyas in the auction. I’ve worked with him for a long time in Delhi. He’s one of the great players and great people I’ve worked with and is an IPL-winning captain. We have a terrific relationship, respecting each other’s roles.

Sriram Veera: Right, but with inexperienced captains or even in general, is there anything wrong with cricket going football manager way – with more frequent inputs even after the toss?

Absolutely not. It’s rare that an on-field captain doesn’t seek advice from the dugout. Dhoni may be the only one in IPL who doesn’t do that. Even in our first game, there was lots of advice going to Shreyas, and he was asking questions about what the game needed. A prime example is how we used our impact player in the first game with Vyshak (Vijaykumar) coming in as late as he did. There was a lot of tactical planning behind that. We had three guys ready: two spin bowlers and Vyshak. We waited for the right time to bring our impact player into play. It depended on what Gujarat Titans were doing as well. We kept an eye on their dugout, waiting to see if they’d use Rutherford or Glenn Phillips as their impact player. Once they made their choice, it was clear to us which way we should go. Even with timeouts in the IPL, you have a chance to talk to your captain or senior players.

Sriram Veera: Kagiso Rabada said we might as well name the sport batting instead of cricket if there is no balance between bat and ball. What are the changes you’d like to see in cricket to balance it?

I think a lot of it comes down to the approach of the batters. The Impact Player has definitely made a difference in how batsmen approach their innings. We have high-quality all-rounders in our starting 11, which was by design in the auction. The batsmen can go from the first ball to the end of the 20th over without much concern about being left short of quality batting.

The change is partly in batting skill. Speaking as a batsman, it has undoubtedly become harder for bowlers. Batting skill has evolved more than bowling over the last 18 years of IPL cricket. How many guys bowl consistently good yorkers like Bumrah or Malinga used to deliver? There aren’t many of those bowlers around, so what’s stopping them from executing four to five yorkers in an over? We saw what Vyshak did the other night with a slightly different tactic with the wide stuff. Where are the bowlers who can do that consistently? The length of the pitch hasn’t changed, a good yorker is still a good yorker. Yet, we’re seeing that skill dying off a little bit. Yes, the game favors batsmen now because of the impact rule. However, we used the impact rule to our advantage with a bowler who had the right skills for the situation. The evolution of bowlers still needs to happen and improve.

Sandeep Dwivedi: One thing we’ve observed about you from your playing days to coaching is the confidence that you carry, how did that come about?

It all comes down to how you prepare. If you’re well-prepared, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t be confident. A great example of that right now is Shreyas. You watch him walk out to bat the other day, he walked out with a certain amount of swagger about him because he’s confident. He knows if he does his little things right, then he can’t fail. That’s the thing I always tell the players: if you prepare as well as you can and if you go out and stick to your game plan, you can’t fail. Yes, you might make a mistake, but you’ve done everything you can to make an impact on the game. I worked as hard as anyone, through my career, on my batting and fielding, to get myself ready to go.

It is more so in the T20 game; coaches and players always talk about playing with freedom. You can’t play with freedom unless your preparation is right. If you’re not confident and have doubts, it’s impossible to play with freedom. I’ve had conversations with younger Indian players for these three weeks. I have told them, ‘You let me know how you want to be coached and the preparation you want and I’ll make sure it gets done every single day.’

Sandeep Dwivedi: You once advised Rahul Dravid not to retire, and he went on to have a good series after that. How do you know when a player’s time is up, especially in India right now with debates about Virat and Rohit after the Australia series?

Regarding Dravid, it was a series against us. We could all see he was battling, and there was a lot of media talk, and it was all wearing him down. Rahul and I have always got along really well. We were fierce competitors, both No.3 batters for our countries for a long time. For players like that the class and quality didn’t leave. It sometimes gets buried under a lot of other stuff, and certain people can’t find their way out of those holes. I just had a chat with him and said, ‘Look, forget about all the external stuff, believe in yourself, and go back to the things that have made you a good player. If you focus on that and not worry about the little things, I am sure you can finish off your career on a strong note.’ That’s all I said. He went away and did that and guess what? When I was at the end of my career, I got the same message back from him. He was the first on the phone and made me aware of the things I had to say to him.

I have been on record about Virat to say: ‘You can’t write off quality players’. They’re champions for a reason and always find a way to come good. Different times in the last couple of years, Virat has been able to do that when he is getting in a hole. He is a high-quality player and, maybe Rohit is a bit the same. Test cricket is the thing that is becoming harder for them right now. Rohit has made it clear he’s going nowhere in the 50-over game. Virat is the best white-ball player ever. I will never write those guys off. Whether or not I am going to send them the same message I sent Rahul Dravid, at the start of an IPL is a different question, but I love those guys when they play international cricket, and hopefully, they can play for years to come.

Nihal Koshie: In the Champions Trophy, we saw Indian spinners restrict most batsmen. The pitches were slow but I can’t imagine players like you, Kevin Pietersen, or Mohammed Azharuddin being so tied down. Do you think batsmen’s skills are deteriorating against spinners?

The rhythm and tempo of one-day batting is not like it used to be because of how much T20 cricket is being played. In the 50-over game now, teams are trying to play it like a longer T20 game. And England are the best example. They have no idea how to put together a batting innings in 50-over cricket. They were dreadful in the 50-over World Cup, they were dreadful in the Champions Trophy. As soon as the spinners come on now, you think you have to take them for 20 runs in an over and in the right conditions, you can’t do it. You have to find a way to score 80-90-100 runs per hundred balls without taking too many big risks and getting out. Maybe some of that skill with strike rotation, hitting gaps, running hard between wickets… the stuff that made the best 50-over players what they were, maybe some of that has gone.

Think of the best 50-over players now. It is Virat, Smith, Williamson, and Root. They are not the out-and-out power players, they are the skillful players. They rotate the strike, they pick up a lot of twos without the excessive amount of sixes a lot of other players hit. Some of the skills needed to manipulate fields against spin bowling have gone out of the window.

Delhi Capitals’ KL Rahul with Chennai Super Kings’ MS Dhoni during IPL 2025 match between DC and CSK at Chepauk. (Sportzpics for IPL)

Nihal Koshie: Only about 49 percent of players see Test cricket as the primary form as per a World Cricketers’ Association study. This is down from around 80 percent about five years ago. Does this worry you?

It is a worrying trend but a trend I am not surprised about. If you surveyed just Australians, Englishmen, Indians, South Africans, and Kiwis, I think the percentage would likely be higher than 49. I can understand some of the smaller Test-playing nations – when I say smaller, I mean teams that are not making as much revenue from Test matches – like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies, and Zimbabwe. They would probably be the minority of that 49 percent. All their income is from the shorter formats of the game. It would be interesting to see what the survey says about the 50-over game as well.

Yes, I’m worried about Test cricket’s health. The World Test Championship has added context to every Test match. I’m not a fan of the two-tier system that I have been hearing. I don’t understand how that would work well enough. Yes, you are going to have the better teams playing more against one another. But that is happening now anyway. The concern I have is that no one really cares about the smaller teams playing against each other. If you have two tiers, that is going to happen more and more. The TV money won’t be in for those series, those boards will make less money. Test cricket I think will remain reasonably strong. But the bigger worry I have always had is how the 50-over game is going to fit in, in 10 years time.

Sandip Gopal: You fielded in various positions brilliantly. How did you develop this versatility?

Just because I really wanted to. Being a good fielder is all about attitude. If you want to be a good fielder, you can. With time and effort, anyone can be. As a batsman, you spend a lot of time in the field. If you’re good at it, you’ll enjoy it more. I tried to be a good fielder to impact games and help my team. I’ve seen stats since retiring and know I have one of the highest catches in Test cricket history. I also have many direct-hit runouts because I wanted to impact the game for my team. Anytime I trained with the Australian team, I’d practice with the best fielders like Mark Waugh, Greg Blewett and trained until I was better than them. I’d stay till I hit the stumps more often, took more catches.

Sriram Veera: During your playing days, Ian Chappell would say you’re a better fielder than Jonty Rhodes because of your direct hits. Who would you pick—Ricky Ponting or Jonty Rhodes?

(Smiles) Jonty and I are great friends. We played against each other often, and he was my fielding coach at Mumbai Indians. We’ve had many conversations in recent years. Before Punjab’s first game, he messaged me wishing all the best. Look, Jonty was the better athlete. He was quicker and moved better laterally than I did. But I probably hit the stumps as much as anyone when I got the ball. It depends on how you categorize fielding—spectacular saves or making catches and taking wickets. Like the best keepers, the best fielders do it all. If the best keepers make a real impact on the game and can bat, I consider them all-rounders because they’re exceptionally skilled at two aspects. If I was a great fielder and a good batsman, you’d have to consider that being an all-rounder in your team as well. I didn’t take many wickets with the ball, but if I took a lot of catches and made many runouts, it equates to the wickets that others have taken.

Mihir Vasavda: Would the future of T20 cricket be four Grand Slam-like tournaments?

I’m probably too much of a traditionalist with the international game. I want to see Test cricket prosper, and one-day cricket improve. I think there’s still a place for all these competitions to survive and prosper. But at some point, cannibalization will happen. We can’t expect every cricket game, whether a Test match, one-day international, or T20, to be at its optimum all the time. I feel for one-day cricket because it’s generally played around T20 tournaments. Fans want to watch T20s more than the one-day game now, so the one-day game suffers. But when we’ve seen bigger events, like the 50-over World Cup in India, it was an incredible spectacle. I don’t want to see that go away. Is it inevitable? Maybe it is, but I’m holding on, hoping it doesn’t go that way.

Ricky Ponting interview with The Indian Express at Idea Exchange: On why Punjab Kings ‘wanted Shreyas Iyer at any cost’ in IPL auction | On MS Dhoni’s IPL future | On Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s future with Team India | On the Impact Player Rule

Lalith Kalidas: How has the idea of an ideal auction pick changed since you last played?

There’s less focus on just numbers for players. Numbers tell part of the story, but our auction strategy this year was different. We had more spots to fill, building from the ground up with the best experienced Indian players. I watched many videos of young players. What I look for is ball-striking talent, like Priyansh Arya. He’s an out-and-out clean ball striker. Technically, he looks a bit unorthodox, but I guarantee he’s going to make a serious mark on this IPL. Suryansh [Shedge] is another standout talent. His numbers for Mumbai at the end of the domestic season were outstanding. Since joining us, his ball striking has been elite, as expected. Mumbai Indians have someone like Bevon Jacobs, an unknown player with an X-factor due to his sheer ball striking. And then everyone is exploring different bowling actions and mystery spin. These aspects have evolved over the last 15 years. Our scouts did a terrific job finding these guys and sending videos to me. It doesn’t take long for me to assess the quality of bowling, batting, and ball striking.

Devendra Pandey: Dhoni batting at No 9… if you were the CSK coach, would you ask him to bat higher? And do you ever see him retiring?

Well his keeping is not getting any worse, that’s for sure; he’s not missing many standing up to the stumps against the spinners, as good as ever. Look, you are not going to argue with anything CSK ever do, they are one of the most successful teams in IPL history. They have had consistent coaching for a long time and generally make the right decisions. With the impact player rule now, Dhoni bats after other serious ball strikers within their own right. He’s played a slightly diminished role in the last couple of years, just coming in for the last 10-12 balls for a big impact. Dhoni is still dangerous in the IPL. Will he play forever? It might just depend on how this season goes. If he can have a real impact with the bat, he will keep playing. If his batting output drops, he might consider retiring. He’s been a terrific player for a long time.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: What’s more stressful – being the Australian captain or a coach in the IPL?

That’s a good question. (Smiles) I think they are both quite stressful jobs, to be honest. Being captain of the Australian cricket team is one of the most prestigious sporting jobs in the world. With the success that Australian cricket teams have had for such a long time, the expectations are high. Obviously, only 11 people get the opportunity to play for their respective countries, and there’s added pressure when you lead a proud cricketing nation like Australia or India. On the other side, the IPL coaching role… I totally believe it’s the strongest domestic competition in the world, with the best players and coaches. I’m now the head coach of a franchise that’s never won the IPL. My job is to bring success to the Punjab Kings. There’s pressure, but you can’t focus on external factors. You must think about taking that pressure away from your players, letting them play with freedom, and express themselves. Things are starting to fall into place, and I’m really enjoying the time here. It’s a fresh start for the playing group. We retained two younger Indian players, went into the auction with the biggest purse, and tried rebuilding the team and franchise from the bottom up. I feel we’ve done a good job putting together a strong squad.

Vinayakk Mohanarangan: Where do you stand on the impact rule, all said and done?

As a coach, I’d say no. As a spectator, I’d probably say yes. Decisions are often influenced by what’s best for viewers and TV. I know this from working in broadcasting. The impact player is there to improve the spectacle, there is no doubt in my mind. They may say it gives another Indian player a chance, but if they’re good enough, they’d be in the starting XI anyway. As a coach, I’d much prefer picking the best XI, but I understand the other side too.

Mihir Vasavda: The Gabba will be demolished after the 2032 Olympics. You’ve had some good memories there as a batsman, what kind of emotions does that leave you with?

I’m not sure what’s happening with the new venue. I didn’t read enough, just saw the headline. But, obviously, as Australian players, we have many good memories there. I don’t think I lost a Test match there as a player. I believe India was the first to win there a couple of years ago after a long time. Regarding memories, yes, I made some Test hundreds and had good one-day international innings there. The Gabba was a unique venue, different from most other places, with a grassy wicket on the first couple of days. It offered seam and swing for fast bowlers early but became a great place to bat as well. So, a lot of history, a lot of tradition, and a place all Australian players love playing at.

Sandip Gopal: Going back to your playing days, talk to us a bit about the pull shot.

It was to do with my upbringing. I was a 12-year-old boy playing against fully grown men, some of the best bowlers in my state, at Mowbray Cricket Club. We had fast bowlers in the state squad at the time, and I was batting against them in the nets on artificial grass without a helmet. Playing against them on bouncy wickets, I had to find a way to combat that. My technique involved being on the front foot with a high backlift, which naturally positioned me for hook and pull shots. I didn’t consciously think about it; it just happened. At the Cricket Academy as a 15-year-old, I trained against some of the best up-and-coming fast bowlers aged 21 and 22, including Glenn McGrath, who wasn’t going easy on a boy from Launceston. I had to find a way to combat that. That shot became a big part of my arsenal as a batsman. When I played it well, I consistently looked to get on the front foot. If bowlers over-pitched, I would hit back down the ground. This approach signaled to bowlers that if they dropped short, I’d play a pull shot. If they pitched it full, I’d drive it back down the ground. Theoretically, my technique made their margin of error very small.

Sandip Gopal: How competitive was the atmosphere in the Australian side, especially in the late 90s and early 2000s?

It’s always competitive in Australia. We only have six state teams, so you need to be very good to play state cricket. It’s as simple as that. When I was coming through, talent alone wasn’t enough; you needed the right attitude to make it even into a state setup. This competitiveness flowed into club and grade cricket. Spots in the batting lineup weren’t easy. I had peers like Damian Martyn, Greg Blewett, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Michael Bevan, and Darren Lehmann. It wasn’t easy to get into the Australian team. You had to ensure you did everything right to get an opportunity. Thankfully, I worked hard and got my chance. I had ups and downs early in my career, got dropped a couple of times. But after 168 test matches, I can look back on a pretty enjoyable career.

Sandeep Dwivedi: Virat Kohli once said that, at times, he had to fake his intensity. At times even if you are not confident you need to give the rivals the impression that I am in control…

Guys like Virat, probably me, and even Steve Waugh, sometimes we need a little extra motivation to get themselves up and about. Waugh would often look for some sort of niggle on the ground to really switch him on. He’d go and find an opponent he knew would respond if he said something, and that would get him going. Brian Lara was a bit the same. With Lara, you had to stay away from him. Don’t engage him at all. As soon as you did, it flicked a switch, and he turned into a different player. You can see that a bit with Virat as well. They’re the sort of guys you can just let go. If you sense they are struggling, don’t tell them, let them try and battle it out for themselves. Sometimes that brings them undone. I’m not sure if it’s ever faking it. Sometimes you just need to find a way to get that extra motivation from somewhere else to get yourself up. That’s also a big part of a coach’s role. The last thing I say to our boys every night is, ‘Come tomorrow and tell me one way you think you can improve and can get better.’

Nihal Koshie: As a coach, there must be times when you feel like pulling out your hair, right? How do you manage your emotions? Glenn Maxwell can play high-risk shots in a high-stakes game right from the first ball. Do you talk to someone like Maxwell?

I don’t always control my emotions. I did manage to the other night with Maxwell (in the first match). I knew I was going to be on camera, so I sat with my finger in my mouth. I didn’t let too much out but things are bit different on the inside (smiles). Do I talk to the players? Absolutely, I’ll talk to them about making the right decisions and, more importantly, that they stick to their own style of play. We have seen Glenn play that shot (reverse sweep) millions of times and he probably plays it as well as anyone in the world. I won’t say anything about that option because I actually sent him in to try and do something like that and put some pressure on the spin bowlers. It didn’t work the other night but if I keep backing Glenn Maxwell in the tournament, it will work and he will win us some games.