IPL 2018: Ricky Ponting named head coach of Delhi Daredevils

Ricky Ponting has been announced as the head coach of Delhi Daredevils for the eleventh edition of the IPL. The three-time World Cup winning Australian had been the head coach of the Mumbai Indians for a period of two years until he was replaced by Mahela Jayawardene in 2016. Under him, the side won the title in 2015.

The Daredevils were coached by Paddy Upton last year, managing six wins in fourteen games to finish sixth in the table.

He had been recently linked with a role with Cricket Australia as a coach in the T20 side. While he stated that he was interested in being linked to the Australian side, he also added that no former talks had been completed between him and the board.

The Daredevils announced his appointment with a tweet:

We are glad to announce the new head coach for us in IPL 2018 and it is none other than the legend @punterheads Ricky Ponting. #DilDilliHai pic.twitter.com/i07ArC5it1

— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) January 4, 2018

The announcement was also made by Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua:

"Ricky Ponting has been appointed as head coach. We will have a new coach and a new team with the idea of having continuity. We have retained two youngsters and the whole team will be built around them. Chris Morris is a top all-rounder," he said.

Apart from Ponting, Brad Hodge, who is currently playing in the Big Bash, will be coaching the Kings XI Punjab side in the IPL this year.

As a player, Ponting represented two IPL teams: Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. He played for the Kolkata side in the first edition of the tournament.

During his international career, 'Punter' played 168 Tests, scoring 13378 runs at 51.85. In ODIs, he collected 375 appearances, scoring 13704 runs at 42.03.

He played six games in 2013 as a player for Mumbai, but could manage only 28 runs before handing over the captaincy to Rohit Sharma, who has, since then, led the team to three titles (2013, 2015, 2017).