Former Australia captain and the ICC Hall of Famer, Ricky Ponting doesn’t think the young prodigy can survive as an opening batter in the Test format if he continues to bat like he did at MCG. The world wasn’t ready to witness Konstas going all guns blazing on his debut when he stepped in front of a sold-out crowd in the Boxing Day Test. With a ramp shot for a towering six over the head of Rishabh Pant, Konstas tonked the first maximum off the world’s current best pacer, Jasprit Bumrah.

He continued to adopt the policy of firing all cylinders on his way to a swift 60(65) before being pinned in front of the stumps by Ravindra Jadeja.

The quick-fire approach was a hit-and-miss for Konstas, considering his next set of performances. In the second innings, Bumrah pitched up a perfect inswinger to breach the gap between pad and bat to clean up Konstas.

On an unpredictable Sydney Test strip, it was Mohammed Siraj, who set him up in the first innings and Prasidh Krishan in the second.

“I don’t think he can survive as a Test opening batsman playing like that all the time. So he will learn a lot from the first couple of games that he played as a batsman, but just as an international sportsman as well, I think he’ll learn a lot,” Ponting said on the ICC Review.

“It’s a big stage and he really enjoyed it at the MCG. But I’ve seen this happen a lot with young players. They come in, they get overawed by everything a little bit, and it takes them a few games or a few series just to actually work out who they are and who they need to be successful international players,” he added.

Despite his underwhelming show after the MCG run-fest, Konstas did enough to impress the Australian selectors and confirm his ticket to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test tour beginning at the end of this month.

Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting expressed his excitement on Wednesday after being named the new head coach of Punjab Kings, calling it a “new challenge.” Earlier on Wednesday, Punjab Kings announced Ponting’s appointment as head coach. He will assume charge for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and beyond. Ponting said he is “grateful” to the Punjab-based franchise for the opportunity and noted that the team’s owners were “elated” with his vision for the side. Ahead of the 2025 IPL season, Ponting ‘promised’ that fans would see a markedly different Punjab Kings.

“I am grateful to Punjab Kings for giving me the opportunity to become the new head coach. I am excited to take on this new challenge. I had great conversations with the owners and management about the way forward and was thrilled to see how closely our visions aligned. We all want to reward the loyal fans who have supported the franchise over the years, and we promise they will see a much-improved Punjab Kings,” Ponting said in a statement from the team.

Ponting is the third head coach in four seasons for Punjab Kings, who finished ninth in the 2024 IPL season.

The team has not reached the playoffs since 2014, when they were runners-up. One of Ponting’s first tasks will be identifying players for retention ahead of the next season, subject to the finalisation of IPL’s retention rules.

Speaking on Ponting’s appointment, Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon said, “We are delighted to have Ricky onboard to guide and build our team over the next four seasons. His vast experience is crucial in helping us develop a squad capable of delivering on-field success. His insights from international coaching stints and as a television pundit will be vital in identifying talent ahead of the upcoming mega auction. Ricky’s ability to nurture cricketing and leadership skills will play a pivotal role in our success.”

Ponting’s IPL journey began as a player with Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural 2008 season. He later joined Mumbai Indians, where he relinquished the captaincy midway through the 2013 season, allowing Rohit Sharma to lead the team to their first title.

Ponting has previously coached Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the IPL across 11 seasons, guiding them to one championship and four playoff appearances.

In the 2024 Major League Cricket (MLC) season, he was appointed head coach of Washington Freedom, leading them to the title. Since 2021, Ponting has also been the head of strategy for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League (BBL).

Indian Premier League franchise Punjab Kings is not likely to renew the contract of head coach Trevor Bayliss, as per a report. The Australian cricket coach took over the duties from Anil Kumble at PBKS ahead of the 2023 IPL season. Bayliss’ two-year contract with the side has ended now and the franchise is unlikely to continue with him, said the report. It added that PBKS are in hunt for an Indian coach. If this turns out to be true, Bayliss would be the second Australian coach after Ricky Ponting to be removed this month.

Indian coaches and mentors in IPL, of late, have given good results to different franchises.

“PBKS are on the lookout for an Indian coach to guide the team. Whether they will ultimately choose an Indian coach remains to be seen, but they are believed to be considering several options with one of them being Sanjay Bangar,” stated a report in Cricbuzz.

Apart from PBKS, Bayliss has also coached teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Under his coaching, PBKS finished at the eighth and ninth spots in IPL 2023 and 2024, respectively, which seems to have played a significant role in his potential ouster.

The same report added that PBKS owners did not have any complaint with the coaching style of the Australian but it is the result of the team’s performance that has forced them to come to the decision.

Around a week ago, Delhi Capitals parted ways with head coach Ricky Ponting after seven unsuccessful years in their quest for an elusive IPL silverware, the franchise announced on social media.

While it is still early days, there is every possibility that Sourav Ganguly, the current team director of DC, could double up as the head coach next season.

“As you move on as our head coach, we are finding it incredibly difficult to put it down in words. The four things that you told us about in every huddle — care, commitment, attitude and effort, they sum up our seven years together,” DC posted on their official ‘X’ handle.

File photo of David Warner.© BCCI