The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was suspended due to India-Pakistan tensions and Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting was just on the verge to leave India but he made a bold decision and stepped off the plane last-minute and stayed in Delhi.
Ricky Ponting’s Bold Decision
He made this decision because he wanted to calm the nerves in Punjab’s camp and overseas players who were extremely concerned with the growing tensions and the possibility of a full-fledged war between both the nations. His leadership was the reason none of the foreign players boarder their scheduled flight from Delhi on Saturday night.
“It shows Ponting’s character. Only he could have pulled that off,” Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon told PTI
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Foreign Players Wanted To Leave But Ponting Convinced Them
“The foreign players are not used to something like this . So, it was natural for them to feel anxious. Led by Stoinis, they all wanted to leave at the earliest and understandably so. But Ponting has convinced them to stay back post ceasefire which I think is remarkable,” said a source in the team.
There were several players like Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis and Xavier Bartlett that endured a stressful journey from Dharamsala to Delhi. Punjab Kings has most of their key players in the country and will be going forward into the rescheduled tournament with the same momentum.
(With PTI Inputs)
