Ricky Ponting breaks his silence on leaving captaincy after 2011 World Cup exit

There is no doubt that Ricky Ponting is an absolute legend of the game. The right-handed batsman from Tasmania has achieved several heights at the international level which is probably second to none. Other than being a terrific batsman, he was also an extremely good captain.

Under his captaincy, Australia won consecutive World Cups in 2003 and 2007 and also the Champions Trophy in 2006. Even in Test matches, the veteran’s captaincy was hailed by everyone. In 77 Test matches where he led Australia, the team won 48 out of them. As a matter of fact, he is also the most successful ODI captain of all time. As a captain of the Australian side, he has won 162 out of the 228 matches.

Even after achieving so much as a captain, Ricky Ponting had to take the decision of stepping down from captaincy back in 2011. Australia had gone into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 as the defending champions but was knocked out by the hosts India in the quarter-final match. Recently in an interview, Ponting revealed that giving up captaincy had hurt him a lot. However, he also said that the decision to step down was right at the time.

It hurt to give up captaincy, reveals Ricky Ponting

“Did it hurt? Yes. Giving it up to hurt. I think I realised it was the right time for Australian cricket. I wanted to give the next captain appropriate time to go into the next couple of big tournaments. I wanted to ensure Michael (Clarke) had enough time to be the best captain he can be in the next big event. It was touch and go that I would make it to the next Ashes. I thought it was the right time to give it up and give Michael every opportunity,” the 45-year-old told Sky Sports

He also revealed that he decided to stay around the team as a batsman after the World Cup because he knew he had to help youngsters in the side. “I made a hundred in the World Cup quarter-final and I was still playing well. There were a few eyebrows raised when I said I would like to play on. The major reason I played on is because there were a lot of young guys coming in at the time and I wanted to make sure I was around to help them.

Believe me, there was nothing left for me to achieve in the game and I was only around for what I thought was best for Australian cricket,” Ricky Ponting added. He officially retired from all forms of cricket in 2013. Since then, the Australian has been involved in the game as a coach.

He coached Mumbai Indians from IPL 2014 till 2016 before signing up as the coach of Delhi capitals in 2018. He would be continuing his job as the head coach of the franchise in IPL 2020.