IPL 2024: DC head coach Ricky Ponting speaks up on Impact Player rule

Ricky Ponting, the head coach of Delhi Capitals, shared his insights on the ongoing debate surrounding the 'Impact Player' rule in the IPL. While the rule allows teams to substitute one player from the original XI during a match, Ponting believes that high-scoring games will persist even if the rule is revoked. He expressed his views during the release of Delhi Capitals' batting coach Pravin Amre's autobiography.

Ponting acknowledged the potential cushion the Impact Player rule provides to top-order batters but emphasized the innate aggressive approach of players like Jake Fraser-McGurk and Travis Head. Despite the rule's impact on team strategies, Ponting doubts a significant drop in scores.

"There is a talk if the impact player remains in the IPL, if it doesn't, will the scores come down again? I am interested to see that. I am not sure they will," said Ricky Ponting during the release of Delhi Capitals' batting coach Pravin Amre's autobiography 'Zero FOR 5: The Thrilling Cricket Journey of Pravin Amre' on Monday.

"Yes, the impact player does provide a bit of cushion for the guys at the top but I think the guys at the top are so used to going out and playing a certain way.

"I mean imagine trying to tell Jake Fraser-McGurk to play a different way or tell Travis Head to be a little bit defensive, that's just not going to happen," he explained.

Also Read: 'You have to evolve with time' - Ravi Shastri backs Impact Player rule

He also shed light on the challenges faced by franchise coaches, citing the diverse nationalities among players as a significant hurdle. Compared to coaching a national team, Ponting finds coaching a franchise more demanding due to limited time for player interaction and skill development.

"I think it is a lot more difficult being a coach of a franchise team because the different nationalities involved, a few Australian coaches, couple of Australian players, couple of South African players, we have New Zealanders, we have Nepalese part of our squad over the journey," he said.

"And the hardest part of coaching with the franchise is only getting the players together for a few days before the first game of the season, when you are trying to create culture around the team, you haven't got much time with the players. It's really hard to do that, it is also hard to make big skill changes in such a short period of time," he added.

There still is room for purist batsmen in Test match cricket: Ponting

Reflecting on the evolution of the game, Ponting noted a diminishing space for batters with classical techniques. He praised players like Joe Root and Virat Kohli for maintaining classical techniques amidst a changing landscape dominated by T20 cricket.

"There still is room for purist batsmen in Test match cricket, but that's going to be less and less," he pointed out.

"In the last 10 years there is not a lot of classical technique in the modern day batters, you look at the absolute best now, Joe Root is probably the most classical one," "Stephen Smith, what he has done over the years has been a little bit different, Marnus Labuschagne has been a bit different with the way he plays, Virat is classically, technically very good as well, but I think there is a bit of a shift," he said.

Meanwhile, Pravin Amre, the Delhi Capitals' batting coach, highlighted the importance of mentorship in his autobiography. He recounted a pivotal moment as coach of the Mumbai Ranji trophy team, where the team's belief and resilience led to a remarkable turnaround in a crucial match.