New Delhi: One of the most successful captains of Australia Ricky Ponting disclosed that he was offered the soon-to-be-vacant India head coach position across all formats, but he declined it saying it doesn't fit into his "lifestyle" right now.
Ponting, who recently completed his duty as head coach of Delhi Capitals (DC) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, was Australia's interim T20 coach in the past. "...there were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it," Ponting told the ICC.
"I'd love to be a senior coach of a national team, but with the other things that I have in my life and wanting to have a bit of time at home...everyone knows if you take a job working with the Indian team, you can't be involved in an IPL team, so it would take that out of it as well. Also, a national head coach is a 10 or 11-month of the year job, and as much as I'd like to do it, it just doesn't fit into my lifestyle right now and the things that I really enjoy doing," added Ponting, who played 168 Tests.
Ponting said he had a chat with his son and he replied that he would love to visit India for the next couple of years. "My family and my kids have spent the last five weeks over at the IPL with me and they come over every year and I had a whisper to my son about it," he recalled.
"I said, 'Dad's been offered the Indian coaching job' and he said, 'Just take it dad, we would love to move over there for the next couple of years'," Ponting quipped.