3 World Cups, 27,000 Runs: This Australian Cricket Legend Turns 51 Today

Happy Birthday, Ricky Ponting: One of cricket’s greatest-ever captains and batters, Ricky Ponting, celebrates his 51st birthday on Friday, December 19. The Australian legend represented his country over 168 Tests, 375 One-Day Internationals and 17 T20Is in an illustrious international career. The formidable right-hander and great tactician also featured for the Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.

Ponting scored over 27,000 runs at the international stage, with 71 hundreds. His glorious career included his legacy-defining captaincy stint, where he led an all-conquering Australian side that dominated the Test match arena and also bagged the 2003 and 2007 ICC World Cup titles. He also won the World Cup as player

in 1999 under Steve Waugh’s leadership.

Ponting also captained Australia to the 2006 and 2009 ICC Champions Trophy wins.

Ricky Ponting’s Career Stats

	Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100s	50s
Tests	168	13,378	257	51.85	58.72	41	62
ODIs	375	13,704	164	42.03	80.39	30	82
T20Is	17	401	98*	28.64	132.78	0	2

Ricky Ponting’s IPL Stints As Player 

Ponting represented Kolkata Knight Riders at the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League back in 2008, a stint which didn’t go as desired for the great cricketer. He made 39 runs in his four innings before leaving the tournament for international duties.

Ponting returned to the IPL after a five-year wait when the Mumbai Indians roped him into their camp for the 2013 season. He was also named the team’s skipper. But Ponting stepped down after six matches due to his poor performance with the bat for which Rohit Sharma took over and eventually led the franchise to its first IPL trophy.

Ricky Ponting’s Coaching Stints In IPL

Ponting’s tactical acumen impressed MI’s ownership group and management so much that the legend was appointed as the head coach ahead of the 2015 season, where they regained the prized silverware. He stayed on board with MI for IPL 2016 as well.

Two years later, Ponting moved to the Delhi Capitals as their head coach. He made an encouraging start with the franchise, helping them reach the play-offs for three consecutive seasons in 2019, 2020 and 2021. A downfall in the subsequent summers in 2022, 2023 and 2024 led to his sacking.

But Ponting’s coaching stocks remained high as Punjab Kings signed him up for the IPL 2025, where he formed an influential partnership with skipper Shreyas Iyer and helped PBKS reach the tournament final.