Ricky Ponting, a former Australian cricketer and the head coach of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), believes the rescheduled IPL in the UAE in September-October will assist his country’s cricketers prepare better for the ICC T20 World Cup later this year.
Austria has had remarkable white-ball series reversals in the West Indies and Bangladesh, losing the five-match T20I series in the Caribbean 1-4 before losing the T20I series against Bangladesh by the same scoreline.
Ponting believed it was critical for Australian cricketers to “get back into the groove” ahead of the T20 World Cup and the Ashes series, particularly since players like David Warner, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, and Daniel Sams had all opted out of the West Indies and Bangladesh series.
In an interview with Australian Test captain Tim Paine on SEN radio, Ponting said, “Those guys who haven’t played for three or four months now, they need to get back into the flow of playing high-quality cricket against the best players in the world.”
“Being in those precise conditions, playing in arguably the best domestic T20 tournament in the world, is without a question their best preparation. There will be all of the world’s greatest players in attendance… “I’m not just saying it because I’d like some Australian players to play for the Delhi Capitals,” Ponting explained.
With a left elbow injury, Steve Smith was forced to miss the West Indies and Bangladesh tours, and he has been quoted as saying that the Ashes should take precedence over the ICC T20 World Cup.