1906018 ricky ponting
Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting. Image Credit: AFP

New Delhi: Former India opener Virender Sehwag said Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has to take the blame for the side’s disastrous start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season after having done some good work in the past seasons.

Sehwag’s words come after Delhi suffered its fifth consecutive defeat in the tournament, this time in a 23-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday and are still at the bottom of the ten-team points table.

Brilliant job

“I think I said before that Punjab have passed on the axe to Delhi, so now the axe has reached Delhi. When a team loses, the coaches are credited, so when the team loses, they should be held responsible. Even, we said so many times that Ponting has done a brilliant job, taking them to the finals, they now reach the playoffs almost every year now. He took all those credits, now he has to take this one as well,” Sehwag was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

After a 34-ball 50 from Virat Kohli took Bangalore to 174/6, Delhi lost three quick wickets to be reduced to 2/3 at one point and never recovered from the setback, eventually finishing at 151/9 in their 20 overs.

Confused look

Sehwag, who captained the Delhi franchise in his IPL playing days, remarked that the David Warner-led side are giving a confused look in attempting to make a turnaround. “Even we said so many times that this is not the Indian team where they take credit for the wins and for the losses someone else is blamed for. There are zero roles of a coach in an IPL team. The big responsibility is man-management and giving the players that confidence, but in the end, a coach looks good only when the team performs well, which Delhi haven’t done at all. I feel Delhi has reached that point where they are confused about what they should do to change their fortune,” he added.

Delhi’s next match in IPL 2023 will be against two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on April 20.