Shane Warne insists he never called for the IPL coaching ban on Ricky Ponting
What's the story?
Australian spin sensation Shane Warne has rubbished reports of him asking Ricky Ponting to step down as Delhi Capitals' coach. He took to Twitter to claim that it would be 'silly' to not allow Ponting coach the Delhi Capitals in the forthcoming IPL.
In case you didn't know...
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was announced as deputy to the head coach of the national side, Justin Langer, ahead of the much-awaited World Cup. Along with that, he also happens to be the coach of Delhi Capitals in IPL.
But BCCI presently doesn't allow India's coach Ravi Shastri to take charge of any other cricketing outfit, as none of the support staff plying their trade with India or India A are to be a part of IPL teams.
According to reports, Warne had earlier asserted that Ponting cannot be the mentor of two sides, keeping Ravi Shastri's situation in mind.
The heart of the matter
But now, Warne has taken to Twitter to confirm that it is indeed necessary for Ponting to remain as the head coach of Delhi Capitals.
He wrote:
"Articles on me saying Punter should be banned from the IPL are simply not true - so stop the BS. When asked, I said it would be a silly move from the BCCI to not allow him to coach Delhi because he’s ass coach of Aust. But if thats the decision - then he would have to accept it !"
Warne also cleared the air on the notion that if Ponting leads the IPL side, he is bound to receive first-hand information about the Indian players. He added that World Cup-bound players anyway battle it out with the senior men in Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and the others.
What's next?
The IPL is slated to commence on March 23, while the World Cup will begin on May 30. Prior to these events, the Aussies will travel to India for two T20Is and five one-dayers, starting on February 24.
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