3 reasons why Sourav Ganguly would be the wrong choice for DC's head coach

Before Delhi Capitals (DC) could announce the biggest change in the franchise's history courteously and professionally, their director of cricket, Sourav Ganguly revealed it to a Bengali newspaper. The former Indian skipper said he was taking over Ricky Ponting as the head coach from IPL 2025 and that he'd already started his preparations.

What followed was an emotional-looking but hurried social media post for Ponting and a statement from the co-owner Parth Jindal. There might be more PR fire-management coming soon but what's done is done now. It's time to judge whether Ganguly's appointment would be a good move for a franchise that is one of the few original ones still searching for its first trophy in the tournament.

Below, we explain three reasons why it might pan out to be a wrong move:

---

#1 Ganguly's arrival has gotten off to the worst possible start

More than the early announcement out of nowhere, it was what Ganguly said about Ponting that went against the norm.

"Ricky Ponting will not be the head coach of Delhi Capitals. Geoffery Boycott was right, as Ponting has not been able to take the franchise forward in the past 7 years. I have to speak with the franchise and ask them to look at Indian coaches. I will be the head coach. Let's see how I perform," Ganguly said.

Coaching in the IPL is a high-pressure but sensitive job. Ganguly criticizing his predecessor like this feels awkward and needless, more so if you consider that he was a part of the DC staff in most of the years that Ponting was at the helm.

Despite DC's failures to win the trophy under Ponting, he was a well-respected figure and a lot of players, like Jake-Fraser McGurk credited him for their individual improvement. How would this statement sit with those players, then?

It gives the vibe of a coup, which is never good for a struggling franchise. Ponting, at least, seemed to have created a good culture in the team.

Moreover, Ganguly already comes with a negative image among the larger IPL fanbase, which has seen the controversies that have followed him throughout his career with Kolkata Knight Riders and then his role as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president. It should have been beyond obvious that he needed to kick this role off in a more non-disputed way, which he has failed at.

---

#2 Little to no coaching experience

DC were supposedly looking for an improvement over Ponting. The one thing that went against Ponting was he didn't have any prior coaching experience in T20Is.

Now they, are moving from one who had gained six years of experience to another one without any experience. Since he retired from international cricket, Ganguly has mostly been an administrator, even at DC.

Coaching is a completely different fish. The onus of players' technical issues, team selections, on-field calls and the team's overall vision falls on you.

Unlike Ponting, Ganguly doesn't even have the experience of winning an IPL. This doesn't sound right for a team in urgent need of results.

In fact, it feels like going in the opposite direction to what's been successful in the IPL in recent years -- coaches with a tremendous amount of domestic or league experience (Chandrakant Pandit, Andy Flower, etc) or younger mentors who have played and won T20 titles and thus are closer to modern realities (Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra etc). Ganguly doesn't sit well on either criterion.

---

#3 DC missed the chance to get a fresh start

As mentioned above, Ganguly was part of the decision-making team whose mistakes he has put on Ponting. Had he only been a spectator like Boycott, pointing out Ponting's inability to take DC forward would have made more sense.

By appointing him as the head coach now, DC have made a change on paper but overall, the vision and processes of the team might remain similar. With a mega auction coming up, they had the perfect chance to clean the slate, get fresh ideas in, and try and overcome this mental block for players about chasing the title.

Even if it had not given immediate results, it would have given the team a new, relatable identity and they could have trusted the coach with a couple of years to show progress -- the same time they'll have to now give Ganguly. Fresh overhauls have a proven history not only in IPL but other sporting leagues.

Overall, DC's move seems emotional and haphazard instead of one backed by modern cricketing logic, a clear vision and pragmatism. The fans can only hope it works out or the trophy drought might continue for a few more years.