Ravichandran Ashwin has been one of the most successful spinners in IPL history: Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting hailed Ravichandran Ashwin as one of the most successful spinners in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ricky Ponting had his first interactive session with the Delhi Capitals squad on Tuesday (1st September, 2020).

This comes after Ricky Ponting had expressed his desire to have a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin and persuade him against ‘Mankading’.

Led by Shreyas Iyer, Ponting said the performance of the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020 will depend as much on the energy of the young guns as on the experience of some of the senior players like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane.

“Ashwin has been the one of the most successful spinners in IPL history. Both of them are world class players, and have been long term Indian players. Rahane has led Rajasthan for a long time as well. They have all sorts of skill, class and experience which they will add to our squad,” Ponting was quoted as saying by the Delhi Capitals.

The value of stalwarts Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane

The Delhi side's best-ever IPL performance has been a third finish. Image Credits: Times of India

Ravichandran Ashwin, who led the Kings XI Punjab in the previous two IPL seasons, was traded to the Capitals in exchange of INR 1.5 crore and left-arm orthodox spinner Jagdeesha Suchith.

On the other hand, Rahane, who started as captain of the Rajasthan Royals last season but was sacked midway, was traded for leg spinners Mayank Markande and Rahul Tewatia.

“We all know how important experience is in T20 cricket, and we understand that. We have got a young captain in Shryeas, but to have those older, more experienced minds on the ground will help us a lot,” Ponting further added.

In addition to experience, the duo will also add a lot of depth and variety to the team. While Rahane can open the innings and bat in the middle order, Ravichandran Ashwin boasts a ton of bowling variations up his sleeve – namely the off spinner, the carom ball and the newly-added leg spinner.

The Delhi Capitals finished third in IPL 2019 and Ponting will be hoping that the current group can help the Delhi-based franchise become IPL champions for the first time.