I have never imposed my style on anyone: Ponting

Dubai: Ricky Ponting is a relieved man now — and with good enough reasons. Mumbai Indians, his first full-fledged coaching assignment in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has just completed an amazing turnaround of fortunes in the current edition and look to make it count in the final on Sunday.

“It was a question of staying positive right through, though I must say it wasn’t easy,” said Ponting, a modern legend of the game whose batting and captaincy records for Australia is monumental. It’s not every day that a team with a disastrous start of four losses in the first four games, and one win out of the first six, can eventually make it to the IPL final — and no wonder the cheeky grin has once again replaced the frown on ‘Punter’s’ face in the dugout.

Speaking to Gulf News in an exclusive interview from India, Ponting looked back at what must have been a rollercoaster six weeks for him: “I was trying to remain positive and told the boys to do the same. It was difficult after losing the first four games but over the last three weeks, the boys have really played some good cricket.

“My job was to impress upon them that we could turn the corner any time. Looking ahead, there is work to do as the final is a big game but we have got enough days to rejuvenate and take it from there,” he said.

The combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Ponting in the Mumbai dugout — not to speak of the other luminaries — have been often a debatable topic of discussion when things were not going their way. Asked how he and Tendulkar shared the coaching responsibilities, Ponting was refreshingly candid about their roles: “Sachin has more of a mentoring role where he helps out the younger players. The coaching is left to me, Shane Bond, Jonty Rhodes and Robin Singh where we came up with our inputs.

“Much as we advise the players on strategy, it’s them who have to execute it on the field. I must again say that from a pretty ordinary start, the guys really raised their game to be where we are now.”

In an interview about a week back when the tide had started turning for Mumbai — they had actually won seven of their last eight group league matches — Ponting had surprisingly picked up uncapped all-rounder Hardik Pandya for special praise in an interview. The young all-rounder responded brilliantly, coming up with a match-winning 61 off 31 balls against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in a must-win match and later attributed it to the pep talk Ponting had given him before the game.

“Ponting just said take your time. Feel free and enjoy your game. If you do that, you will hit them big,” Hardya revealed later — summing up what Ponting feels is the essence of his coaching philosophy. “I have never asked a player to do things my way and let my identity as a former player take over the coach’s role. My job has been to identify each player’s strengths and weaknesses and have really enjoyed working with these youngsters,” Ponting said.

While crediting the team’s turnaround to a great show of character and self-belief, Ponting still reserved a special word of praise for skipper Rohit Sharma. “There was tremendous pressure on Rohit no doubt as on all the players. He led from the front, I have asked him to bat and No. 4 to anchor the innings and then at No. 3 and he has responded brilliantly to these situations,” he said.

Despite agreeing to be a part of IPL from it’s first season when he turned out for the Knight Riders as a player, Ponting had never really warmed up to the format as a player — having retired from the international T20 scenario in as early as 2009. Looking back, the Australian great is, however, pragmatic with the way this format has changed the landscape of cricket.

“T20 cricket in general, and the IPL in particular, has changed the landscape of the way the game is played. The IPL today is the playground for the best cricketing talent in the world and there is the Big Bash. It has increased viewership of the game across all the formats,” he felt.

Having formally switched over to the coach’s role now, how long is it before one sees him playing a bigger role in Australian cricket? “I can’t possibly answer that, he said, before adding: “I wanted to help young cricketers in this format, there are two months of IPL then the Big Bash which also takes away a fair bit of time.

“I have got a young family and I need to give them quality time. I have been on the road for 20 years of my life as a cricketer but then, I don’t know about the future. If an opportunity comes, I will certainly think about it,” Ponting signed off.