Ponting, who has not been a staunch supporter of the Impact Player rule, responded to the debate surrounding its implications for the development of Indian all-rounders.
The discussion gained traction after Rohit Sharma expressed his reservations about the rule in a recent YouTube podcast, stating that he is not a ‘fan of the rule’ due to its potential adverse effects on the growth of Indian all-rounders.
Ponting’s stance indicates a willingness to engage with fans and consider their perspectives in shaping the future of the rule within the IPL framework.
“Look, I think, I read some really, really interesting answers from Rohit Sharma on this yesterday. This Impact Player is taking the all-rounders out of the game a little bit,” Ponting said ahead of DC’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi on Saturday.
“You know you can play your specialist batsman down till No. 8. pretty much. But look, I think for a coach and for the players, it’s probably not ideal, but I think you know a lot of what this game tries to do is to entertain people,” Ponting explained his point of view.
“The T20 game is an entertainment package and it’s probably better asking the spectator what they think about the impact player, because if everyone is loving the fact that teams are making, you know, 220 up to 250 in a lot of the games, and the spectators like seeing it, then it should stay.
“But if the spectators aren’t liking it as much, then there’s no reason why I couldn’t go back to the old,” he added.
‘Warner is around 85 to 90% fit’
David Warner, who sat out the previous match due to a knuckle injury, showcased positive signs of recovery as he resumed batting in the nets and hit some powerful shots, including dispatching balls into the stands during throwdown sessions.
Ponting said he is nearly 85 to 90% fit.
“David did a fitness test on game day in which he got close. He’s probably sort of 85 or 90% a couple days ago. We’d expect that there would be a little bit more improvement from him today.
“But he will have to do a lot of batting today against some fast bowling stuff to make sure that the pain is not there anymore,” Ponting replied to a query from PTI.
The DC head coach expressed satisfaction with the pitch prepared for the team’s upcoming first home game.
“A lot more grass on the entire square than we used to see here. You know, this is the main reason that we moved away from those couple of games at the back of WPL.
“We wanted to ensure that the wickets could potentially play a bit better than they have done for us.”
(With PTI inputs)