Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting has opened up on the much-talked-about no-ball controversy during his side’s match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 last week.
Notably, on April 22, DC skipper Rishabh Pant and assistant coach Pravin Amre had lost their cool after the on-field umpire didn’t rule Obed McCoy‘s full toss as a waist-high no-ball. Pant was seen calling out his players in protest, while Amre was spotted charging onto the field to have a heated discussion with the umpires.
Later, the DC captain was fined 100 per cent of his match fees, while Amre was slapped with the same punishment with an additional one-match ban.
Ponting, who wasn’t a part of the Capitals’ dugout in that game, joined the group again in the recently-concluded fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). After DC successfully defeated the KKR, Ponting spoke to the commentators Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen, where he broke his silence on the no-ball row.
The Tasmanian reckoned that his team’s outburst during the match was completely uncalled-for before mentioning that his team isn’t proud of their actions by any stretch of the imagination.
“It was all wrong, everything about it was wrong. The umpire was wrong, but you have got to get on with it. For our players to demonstrate what they did and to have our assistant coach run onto the field it’s not anything we are happy with or proud of. I have spoken to the guys about that,” Ponting said in a post-match show at Star Sports.
“But KP (Kevin Pietersen), we have had a pretty tough time at DC over the last few weeks. We have had Covid cases, we have been locked in the hotel room, and, I think, just all the frustration that built up. It was a close game, and it all just came out there in that moment. That was a lion in the sand moment for us, it was the halfway time of the tournament. We said we would leave all that behind and move to the 2nd half of the tournament with a better attitude,” he added.
