Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has denied the misconception that he’s calm and composed as a coach in the dugout, saying that he’s an aggressive person and can’t help it, especially during ‘cricket time’.

Ponting was answering a question from the franchise’s co-owner, actress and entrepreneur Preity Zinta, in a recent podcast. The team shared a clip of it on social media, with the caption, ‘Ponting mentality – Train with passion, roar with aggression ??’.

In it, Zinta can be seen asking him: “How does somebody be so aggressive on the ground and as a person, but be so calm and chilled out?”

Ponting offered a hilarious reply, asking Zinta to try and observe him closely in the dugout to understand the reality of how his nature seems from afar.

“You need to come and sit next to me in the dugout sometimes because you will see that it’s not always calm. Look, I’m an aggressive-natured person, especially when it’s cricket time. I’ll have a laugh and a joke and a coffee and a sit down with anyone and talk about anything outside of cricket time. But when it’s cricket time, it’s my job to bring high performance to this team. And so I’m not gonna waste a minute, I’m not gonna waste a day, I’m not gonna waste a training session where I’m not trying to be the best coach that I can be and make every single player that’s playing with me the best player that they can be," Ponting said.

This aggression from Ponting matched Shreyas Iyer’s at PBKS, with the duo taking the franchise to just its second IPL final in the recent season. They lost convincingly to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, but not before a spirited effort in the group stages, which helped them finish top of the points table, despite having one of the youngest squads.

Apart from being credited for being an excellent man-manager throughout, Ponting was also praised for leading PBKS’ brilliant auction strategy. Being a team that has otherwise frequently changed captains and coaches, PBKS would want to stick with the duo and aim to go all the way with a bit more experience next year.

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First Published: June 08, 2025, 10:05 IST

Source: News18