Ricky Ponting open to selection, coaching position with Australian cricket team
Australia’s World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting has said that he is considering taking on a selection or coaching role with the national side.
The former skipper, who is now 41, admitted that he has some time to spare after quitting as coach of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians a few days back. He added that he wants to be “involved somewhere” but has still not discussed it at length with Cricket Australia.
In the last few days, Ponting has emerged as a strong potential candidate to fill in the shoes of the chairman of selectors, a role which was vacated by Rod Marsh in the aftermath of Australia’s fifth consecutive Test defeat in Hobart.
"I've got two more months now that I wouldn't normally have with Mumbai not happening anymore," Ponting told AAP on Wednesday. "There's a bit more time on our hands than I had before."
The former right-hander also said the time spent on traveling is a thing which is holding him back, and that he would ponder over the matter carefully before raising his hand up for the selection position.
"Look, I haven't been asked anything about that job and it's a huge commitment; a massive time commitment," said Ponting. "I'd consider it and have a think about it, but I'd have to talk to my family about it as well. With that role, you're probably on the road for six or seven months of the year and I've done that for 20 years," he said.
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Ponting said that he has already spoken to Cricket Australia about a coaching role but added he is still not sure if he can commit to a regular job with the national side.
"I've said to Cricket Australia from the moment I've finished I'm happy to get involved somewhere and help out where I can," he said. "Full-time coaching roles for me around the Aussie team are something that we need to work through and talk about so we'll see what happens there.”
Lastly, the former captain also rubbished talks that the Australian Test team were having culture problems, despite them having a terrible run both abroad and at home.
"The culture is fine ... don't worry about the culture. Those questions are always asked when the team's not playing well," he said. "The last few weeks the team has left itself open to criticism because the results haven't gone their way. With (coach) Darren Lehmann and (captain) Steve Smith ... it'll be fine."