"It was Ganguly who convinced us that we needed him. Ponting did not agree" - Mohammad Kaif recalls tension in DC camp over Shikhar Dhawan trade
Former India batter and Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach, Mohammad Kaif has revealed details regarding the power struggles behind the scenes between head coach Ricky Ponting and Director of Cricket Sourav Ganguly. The duo apparently were at loggerheads regarding the decision to trade in Shikhar Dhawan from the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) back in 2019.
DC had conducted a major overhaul of their backroom staff, by bringing in Ricky Ponting as head head coach in 2018, and Sourav Ganguly and Mohammed Kaif in 2019 for their respective roles.
Ganguly had pressed for Shikhar Dhawan's acquisition from SRH as he wanted to build a strong Indian core to challenge for the title. Ponting, however, disagreed since he felt that the left-handed opening batter was well past his prime, and instead preferred David Warner for the role at the top.
Mohammed Kaif elaborated on how the entire scenario went down which ultimately led to Dhawan being brought to DC at the expense of three players in the form of Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar, and Shahbaz Nadeem.
"We were stuck still thinking if we should make the trade, and it was Ganguly who convinced us that we needed him. Ponting did not agree. He felt his career was over, because it was right when he was dropped from the Test team. In fact, this thing was highlighted in the meeting that Dhawan is a trusted player who can score 500 runs in a season," Kaif recalled through a video on his social media handle (via Hindustan Times).
"David Warner was in Hyderabad, and I feel he must have influenced Ponting against going with Dhawan. I feel he must have told Ponting that he no longer remains a great player. But Ganguly and Parth Jindal backed Dhawan and traded him, and the India batter proved us right because we had reached the final that season where he scored a lot of runs. So I feel Ponting might have regretted that he would have done better because they did not win a trophy in those seven years," he explained.
Dhawan ended up playing some of his best cricket in the IPL in his three-year stint with DC. The opening batter crossed the 500-run mark in two of the three seasons during the cycle, where the franchise made it to the finals for the first time in 2020, and narrowly missed out on a second consecutive appearance in the following season.
He was released from the squad ahead of the 2022 mega auction. The veteran batter was roped in by the Punjab Kings (PBKS), a franchise he ended up representing and leading, up until his retirement in 2024.
Ricky Ponting eventually had his way too as DC roped in David Warner in 2022 through the mega auction. The explosive left-handed Australian batter had a mixed run with the side, and was released after the 2024 season.
"Retaining a few players and keeping a bigger purse. I felt they were wrong" - Mohammad Kaif on Ponting's strategy with PBKS
Ricky Ponting parted ways with DC after failing to steer the side into the playoffs in the previous cycle. The former Australian captain was roped in by PBKS, where he was immediately tasked with the rebuild of the squad. The 2014 IPL finalists opted to retain just two uncapped players (Prabhsimran Singh (₹4 crore) and Shashank Singh (₹5.5 crore), and now head into the mega auction with an astronomical purse of ₹110.5 crore.
Kaif, however, disagreed with the strategy, and opined that they could have at least retained the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada.
“Now, he went to Punjab, and he followed the same tactic as the old coaches, retaining a few players and keeping a bigger purse. I felt they were wrong. Look at the Mumbai Indians. Despite finishing last, they retained their core players because they believed that they could still win a title. They backed the same players irrespective of their value. What Ponting did is the same as previous PBKS coaches and I'm not a fan of that. They could have retained Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone," Kaif said (as per the aforementioned source).
The mega auction is scheduled to take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah. Ponting is expected to leave his broadcasting duties in Australia to be present at the auction table in the PBKS camp.