Legendary Australian batsman and captain Ricky Ponting featured in the IPL in only two seasons – in 2008 for KKR and in 2013 for MI. His stints as a player were not memorable, but he did help MI win the title in 2013 and then in 2015 as a coach.
He later joined the Delhi Capitals in 2018 as their new head coach and has been in that position since.
Back in 2017, in an interview with Cricket.com.au, Ricky Ponting was queried to pick his best IPL XI. He was only allowed to pick four overseas players in his all-time XI, keeping with the rules of the tournament.
In his best IPL XI, Ricky Ponting omitted Rishabh Pant
Though this isn’t a big surprise because by 2017, Rishabh Pant hadn’t established himself and Ponting was yet to join Delhi as head coach.
“It was a very tough team to pick because I could only get the four overseas guys in there,” he said. “So there were a few notable names that have missed out on selection.
“Things got pretty difficult but I’ve tried to put the best possible team together that I’ve ever seen in IPL history.”
Ricky Ponting went with the Universe Boss, Chris Gayle as one opener and for the left-hander’s opening parnter he chose another left-hander, his compatriot David Warner.
“I’ve gone for two extremely dynamic opening batsmen and I wouldn’t like to be an opening bowler bowling to these two together. Chris Gayle’s record speaks for itself; he averages about 42, strikes at over 150 and his longevity in the game is unbelievable. Dave Warner’s … (IPL) average is about 40 so his consistency is really good, and he’s striking at 141,” he said.
For the middle-order slots, Punter went with IPL leading-run scorer Virat Kohli, followed by a 6-time IPL winner now in Rohit Sharma, and 4-time IPL winner, Suresh Raina, also known as Mr. IPL, hailed as one of the most consistent batter in the first decade of the tournament.
Without a doubt, Ricky Ponting opted for MS Dhoni as the keeper and captain, and Dwayne Bravo as the all-rounder, who is the top-wicket-taker in the IPL history currently.
Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra, two of the veteran spinners of the IPL, form Ponting’s spin attack and the team is completed with yorker king Lasith Malinga and left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra.
Apart from Rishabh Pant, other notable omission from Ponting’s best IPL XI were AB de Villiers, Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir.
