Ricky Ponting rules out England coaching role

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Ricky Ponting has confirmed that he will not consider taking up the vacant role as England's white-ball coach, as he focuses on other commitments and future coaching opportunities. The former Australian cricket legend has been linked to the position following the recent departure of Matthew Mott, but Ponting has made it clear that international coaching is not a priority for him at this time.

Speaking on The ICC Review, Ponting explained that his current life situation does not align with the demands of an international coaching job. 

"No, I wouldn't ever consider doing that actually," Ponting said when asked about the England role. 

He cited his other commitments, including television work and a need for more time at home, as reasons for declining the opportunity. He also mentioned that coaching England, given his Australian background, would feel "slightly different."

"I'm on record saying that international jobs for me right now are not really where my life is at as there's just so much more time taken up with an international job.

“I've got other commitments as well, with my TV work and things that I do and also trying to balance that out with having a decent amount of home time, which I haven't had much of the last couple of years anyway.

"Coaching other international teams is one thing, coaching England for an Australian is probably something slightly different, but right now there's sort of enough on my plate as I've got a bit more coming up in the next couple of months in the UK.

“Australia's got some white-ball stuff coming up over there which I'll go and commentate, so no, right now if my name was on the list they can actually take it off."

Ponting has a wealth of coaching experience, having recently concluded a seven-year stint with the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has also been involved in successful coaching ventures elsewhere, including leading the Washington Freedom to victory in the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA.

Despite stepping away from Delhi Capitals, Ponting expressed his desire to return to IPL coaching.

"I'd love to coach again in the IPL," he stated.

"I've had a great time every year that I've been involved, whether that was in the early days as a player or the couple of years I had at Mumbai as head coach there. And then I've had seven seasons at Delhi, which unfortunately didn't really work out the way that I would have wanted and certainly the way that the franchise would have wanted. I think me going there was all about trying to bring some silverware to the team and that didn't happen."

Ponting also shared insights into Delhi Capitals' future coaching plans, suggesting that the franchise may be looking to appoint a local coach who can dedicate more time to the team, particularly during the off-season. 

"They made it pretty clear that they wanted to head in a different direction with someone that could give them a bit more time and a bit more availability through the off-season, really more than anything to be able to spend a bit more time in India with a lot of the local players. I just couldn't do that with the other stuff that I've got going on," Ponting said.

"I think what you'll find is that they'll probably end up with an Indian-based head coach. Certainly that's some of the dialogue that I've had with them anyway.

"But I'm really thankful for my time that I had there, met some great people, worked with some great people and obviously worked with some great players through the years as well. So I wish them all the very best but as I said there could be a few opportunities for me popping up in the next couple of months and I'd love to be back coaching in the IPL again next season," he concluded.