Had some conversations during the IPL - Ponting reveals he has been approached for the role of Indian head coach

The new era of Indian cricket has begun under trainer Rahul Dravid and the new full-time T20I skipper Rohit Sharma. India began their journey under Dravid with a win over New Zealand in the first T20I of the three-game series in Jaipur on Wednesday. Meanwhile, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has announced that he has been approached for the position of head coach of Team India during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

“I had a couple of conversations with some people about this (the position of head coach) during the IPL. The people I spoke to were pretty eager to find a way to make it work. The first thing I said was that I can not give that much time, it means I can't train on IPL, "Ponting said on Grade Cricketer's podcast.

The two-time world champion captain was also surprised when Rahul Dravid took up the job of head coach, citing his family life and young children.

"Actually, I'm surprised Dravid picked it up too. There was a lot of talk about how happy he was in the U19 role he had. I'm not sure about his family life, but I'm sure. " He has young children. So I'm surprised he took it, but like I said, the people I spoke to were sure they had the right person so they could probably get Dravid to do it, "he said .

The former Australia skipper is currently the head coach of the IPL team Delhi Capitals. During the podcast, when the legendary cricketer was asked about his future contract with Delhi Capitals, he confirmed that he will be with the franchise next year.

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"I'm pretty sure I'll be in Delhi next year. I've loved the last four years I've been there. We had a great time together and some of the young players I got to work with were exceptional and "really good people. Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Avesh Khan and all these guys turned out to be exceptionally good IPL players and some of them became really good international players too, "said Ponting.

Commenting on the mega auction next year, Ponting said the franchise will try to keep the majority of players out of the current pool, but he believes it will be a big challenge.

Surprised by Rahul Dravid's decision to coach India: Ricky Ponting

“I'm surprised Dravid did too. There has been a lot of talk about how happy he was in his U19 role or the academy role he had. I'm not sure about his family life, but I'm pretty sure he has younger kids, at least one. [But] like I said, the people I talked to - they wanted to make sure they got just the right person so they could convince Dravid, ”he said.