Ricky Ponting will lead Mumbai Indians in the IPL VI season. MI bought the former Australian captain at a reserve price of $400,000 at the recent auction held in Chennai. According to a MI release the decision to name Ponting as captain was taken by MI chief mentor Anil Kumble, coach John Wright and Sachin Tendulkar. “Ricky has a lot of experience to lead a competitive and a high-profile side like MI in the IPL. Sachin readily agreed to my suggestion that MI is best served when he leads the batting unburdened by the rigours of captaincy. It was our idea (Sachin and mine) to bring in Ricky as the captain of MI,” said Kumble.

The release also quoted Ponting as saying, “It’s a huge honour and I thank Mrs. Ambani and the MI management for the faith they have reposed in my abilities. MI has the potent combination of Indian and international cricketers and I look forward to leading the team to play to its full potential.” MI is scheduled to start against Royal Challenger, Bangalore (RCB) at Bangalore on April 4.