"I will be the head coach" - Sourav Ganguly says Ricky Ponting didn't take Delhi Capitals "forward in the past seven years"

Sourav Ganguly has announced that he will take over as the Delhi Capitals head coach from Ricky Ponting.

DC posted an emotional parting message for the Australian on social media on Saturday. But before that, Ganguly had revealed to Bengali newspaper Aajkal that he'd take over the role and was already planning for IPL 2025.

Interestingly, in his remark, the former India captain also said that Ponting was "not able to take the franchise forward" in his seven-year-long tenure.

"I have to plan for next year's IPL. I want to win the IPL for Delhi Capitals once. The mega auction is next year, and hence I have started planning from now on. Let me break a news.

"Ricky Ponting will not be the head coach of Delhi Capitals. Geoffery Boycott was right, as Ponting has not been able to take the franchise forward in the past 7 years. I have to speak with the franchise and ask them to look at Indian coaches. I will be the head coach. Let's see how I perform," Ganguly said.

Ponting took over DC in 2018. He had three excellent seasons with the franchise between 2019 and 2021, where they reached back-to-back playoffs, finishing runners-up in 2020.

However, since then, the franchise has failed to reach the playoffs despite multiple changes in personnel.

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Sourav Ganguly was DC director in the last two years

Sourav Ganguly has been a part of the DC camp for a long time, more extensively since his resignation as the Board of Control for Cricket in India president. He was the director of cricket at the franchise in the past two years and played a mentor-like role alongside Ponting.

The new role will demand a more direct approach from him. However, Sourav Ganguly would be glad to see a mega auction aligned for the next edition of the IPL, which would allow him to set up things to take the franchise forward.