Australian great Ricky Ponting signs to Big Bash in off-field role

• Ricky Ponting has signed a three-year deal with the Tasmanian Hurricanes.
• The 47-year-old will assist the team’s search for a new head coach.
• Ponting played for the Hurricanes in the first two years of the BBL in 2009 and 2010.

Ricky Ponting, the former Australian cricket captain and current Delhi Capitals coach, inked a three-year deal with the Tasmanian Hurricanes in Australia’s Big Bash League on Thursday.

In their 11-year history, the Hurricanes had never won the domestic T20 championship, and Ponting, who was born in Tasmania, expressed his desire to change that.

Read More: IPL 2022: DC Coach Ricky Ponting to be in quarantine

“With a few tweaks in a couple of key areas, I believe the Hurricanes have the foundations to win our first BBL trophy,” said the 47-year-old, who played for the team in the first two years of the tournament.

“The competition and the game itself have changed enormously from when I played for the Hurricanes back in BBL 01 and BBL 02, and I now know so much more about the nuances of the T20 game now than I did then.

“I’m passionate about the progression of Tasmanian and Australian cricket across all forms of the game so to be asked to take on such a critical role for the Hurricanes is really special.”

💜 PUNTER’S IN PURPLE 💜

We’re excited to welcome Tasmania’s own Ricky Ponting back to the Hurricanes family 👨‍👦‍👦

Ricky has signed a three-year deal as the Hurricanes’ @BBL Head of Strategy.#TasmaniasTeam pic.twitter.com/oItPuIGGnS

— Hobart Hurricanes (@HurricanesBBL) June 9, 2022

After Adam Griffith stepped down at the end of last season, Ponting’s first responsibility will be to assist the Hurricanes in finding a new head coach.

Read More: IPL 2022: Who impressed Ponting at KKR nets in 2008?

He’ll assist the coach with management choices as well as team strategy and culture, but he won’t be involved on a day-to-day basis throughout the season and will continue to work as a cricket commentator during the Australian summer.

Ponting, who will continue to coach the Delhi Capitals, has never had an official off-field position in the BBL before, but he has worked as a limited-overs cricket coaching consultant for Australia.

Before retiring from international cricket in 2012, Ponting was regarded as one of the best batsmen of his generation and captained Australia.