Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Ricky Ponting was about to take off for home when the ceasefire between India and Pakistan came into force. He had the option to fly back to Australia but he decided to not to, making a last-minute disembarkation from the plane packed with anxious passengers.
Ponting stayed back in Delhi and also gave the pep talk to PBKS' overseas players, who were edgy considering the possibility of a full-scale war between India and Pakistan, and did not board the flight from the national capital on Saturday night.
"It shows Ponting's character. Only he could have pulled that off," Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon told PTI, referring to the pep talk given by the World Cup-winning captain to the entire bunch of foreign players.
PBKS were in Dharamsala during the border tension between India and Pakistan. They travelled back via a special train arranged by BCCI as the airport was temporarily closed. There were players like of Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis and Xavier Bartlett who got anxious while travelling back to Delhi.
"The foreign players are not used to something like this (war like situation). So, it was natural for them to feel anxious. Led by Stoinis, they all wanted to leave at the earliest and understandably so. But Ponting has convinced them to stay back post ceasefire which I think is remarkable," said a source in the team as quoted by PTI.
South Africa star Marco Jansen, who is a regular in PBKS' playing XI this season, is the only one who left India, and he is currently in Dubai, which is only a short flight away.
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As BCCI announced the resumption of IPL 2025, PBKS find themselves well-placed with the majority of their star Indian and foreign players already in the country and on standby.
With Ponting galvanising the team from a nervous situation, it could push the squad to do something special in this IPL.
In the first season of the Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting era, Punjab stand on the cusp of its first play-off berth since 2014.
The other stranded team in Dharamsala was Delhi Capitals, after the game was abandoned after Punjab Kings raced to 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs. The match will resume from that position at a yet-to-be-decided venue and date.