Ricky Ponting, a former captain of Australia and DC coach, is rumored to be close to joining Punjab Kings (PBKS), an Indian Premier League (IPL) team. Although there hasn’t been any formal confirmation on the subject, Cricbuzz claims that negotiations have already taken place and a deal is almost certain.
Ponting, who won the 2013 Indian Premier League as a player with the Mumbai Indians and the 2015 Indian Premier League as a coach, joined Washington in 2018 and remained there for eight years. Delhi qualified for the playoffs in 2019 and 2021 and made it to their first IPL final in 2020 thanks to his assistance. But his two seasons in DC have been underwhelming; after finishing fifth in 2022, they finished ninth and sixth in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Trevor Bayliss coached PBKS for the last two seasons; his contract expired after the IPL 2024. In 2023, PBKS will also recruit former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar as its new head of cricket development.
PBKS has never won the IPL title, and their best finish was as runners-up in 2014.
