Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting stated that the team would work under his control over the franchise owners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Ricky Ponting was satisfied with the IPL 2025 mega auction, and all decisions regarding the team would be his responsibility.

Ponting served as the head coach of Delhi Capitals (DC) from 2018 to 2024. During his tenure, he led the team to its best-ever result, finishing as runners-up in 2020. The Capitals also made it to the playoffs in 2019 and 2021. However, the Delhi franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs from 2022 to 2024.

Ricky Ponting Joined Punjab Kings as Head Coach for the 2025 IPL Season

Ricky Ponting joined Punjab Kings as head coach for the 2025 IPL season after parting ways with DC. PBKS has been the least successful franchise in IPL history, qualifying for the playoffs only twice in 17 seasons. Their last playoff appearance was in 2014 when they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final.

The Kings retained uncapped Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh ahead of the auction. They acquired Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal for Rs 18 crores each during the auction. The team spent Rs 26.75 crores to sign Shreyas Iyer, the captain of last year’s IPL-winning team, as their leader.

Although They’re the Owners of the Team, It’s My Team – Ricky Ponting

Speaking on a podcast, The Howie Games, Ponting made it clear that he will have full control over the team’s decisions in the IPL 2025 season. Ponting said he was happy with the squad assembled after the IPL 2025 mega auction. He emphasized that the team owners are passionate about cricket.

“The auction went really well. I’m happy with what we’ve done there. But from this moment on, although they’re the owners of the team, it’s my team now, and they have to accept that this is the way we’re doing things,” Ponting said.

“All major owners of Punjab are successful people, and they’re passionate about their team. They want success. The fact that they haven’t had success in 14 or 15 years is probably pushing them harder and harder to want it, which makes them more passionate,” he added.

I Don’t Mind Owners Having Conversations with Me – Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting said that team owners questioning decisions is fine as long as it remains constructive. However, he stated that any communication with players must go through him to avoid conflicts. Ponting highlighted the importance of maintaining a clear and unified communication channel.

“That might make them ask more questions—why I did this, why I did that, or why we went for a particular player in the auction. But so far, so good,” Ponting further stated.

“I don’t mind owners having conversations with me about what they want, but I have an issue when it starts going directly to players. If I’m giving one message and other messages are reaching the players, then that’s where you end up with issues. So they know that the line of communication to the players has got to be through me.”

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