IPL 2025: Ricky Ponting named Punjab Kings head coach

Ricky Ponting has been appointed as the head coach of Punjab Kings (PBKS) for the IPL 2025 season, just over two months after ending his seven-year tenure with Delhi Capitals.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Ponting has signed a multi-year deal with Kings, a franchise with several owners. He is expected to make the final decision on the rest of the coaching staff. 

There is currently no information on which members from last year’s coaching team will remain, including Trevor Bayliss (head coach), Sanjay Bangar (head of cricket development), Charl Langeveldt (fast-bowling coach), and Sunil Joshi (spin-bowling coach).

Ponting will be the third head coach in four seasons for Kings, who finished ninth in the 2024 season. They have not qualified for the IPL playoffs since 2014, when they were runners-up.

Ponting’s first task will be to shortlist players for potential retention for the next season while waiting for the IPL to finalise the retention rules.

Key performers for Kings last season included Harshal Patel, who won the Purple Cap for the second time, as well as uncapped Indian players Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma.

The squad also features India left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, along with a strong group of overseas players, including England’s Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.

Kings will also be looking to find a new captain after Shikhar Dhawan announced retirement.

Ponting has been involved in the IPL since its inaugural season in 2008, initially as a player with Kolkata Knight Riders and later with Mumbai Indians, where he stepped down as captain midway through the 2013 season, allowing Rohit Sharma to take over.

Mumbai won the title that year, with Ponting continuing in an advisory role in 2014 before serving as head coach for two seasons in 2015 and 2016.

In 2018, Ponting became head coach of Capitals, leading them to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2021, including their first IPL final in 2020. After concluding his tenure with Capitals in July, Ponting led Washington Freedom to a title-winning campaign in the 2024 season of Major League Cricket.