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'Whether we are good mates or not...': Ponting's brutally honest 'leave the past behind' remark on working with Ganguly
Ricky Ponting opened up on working with Sourav Ganguly at the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023.
The Delhi Capitals are enduring a poor outing in the 2023 Indian Premier League, having lost seven of their 11 games in the season so far. Reeling at the bottom of the table, the side may not be officially out of the race for a playoff qualification, but faces a severely uphill task for the same. The Capitals are playing without their first-team captain Rishabh Pant in the season, who is recovering from injuries sustained in car crash last year; under David Warner, DC have failed to find solidity – particularly in their batting unit.
The side has two of the biggest names sitting in the dugout in coaching roles; while Ricky Ponting is the side's head coach, former India captain Sourav Ganguly is the director of cricket for the Capitals. The duo had also worked together in the 2019 season of the tournament, that marked the beginning of an overall of the franchise; in that edition, the DC finished third in the points table.
Also read: 'If Team India is focussing on ODI World Cup...': Shastri, Harbhajan's ultimatum to BCCI after Yashasvi's carnage
The franchise might not be having a fruitful season this year, but Ponting has opened up on working with Ganguly, against whom he has played on many occasions in international cricket.
“When you talk about rivalry, he was a bigger rival to Steve Waugh when he was the captain. They had a bit more edge than Sourav and I. We did play a lot against each other, we captained in the World Cup final against each other. But he was involved with DC back in 2019 when things really started to change. He went to the biggest seat in the last couple of years, and now he's back with us,” Ponting told Delhi Capitals podcast.
“We get on really well because we can see the bigger picture for this franchise, and what we have to do together to guarantee success for DC. Regardless of if we're not good mates, when you're working in a team , you got to come together and focus on one direction. Leave the past behind, whatever's happened has happened.”
Ponting further gave an example of working with Harbhajan Singh at Mumbai Indians, calling him one of his greatest rivals on the field.
“One of the best examples was when I went to Mumbai... one of my biggest on-field rivals was Harbhajan. Next minute, I'm walking in MI and captaining him! I'm catching off his bowling and hugging him! That's the really good thing about the IPL. The international rivalries are probably not as strong now because you're working with those guys,” said the former Australia skipper.
