Rohit's captaincy in IPL has been spot on: MI coach Ponting

Mumbai, April 5, 2015: Australia’s two-time World Cup-winning captain and current Mumbai Indians (MI) coach Ricky Ponting on Sunday heaped praise on the Indian Premier League (IPL) side's skipper Rohit Sharma, describing his captaincy for the last two seasons as "spot on". Rohit took over the captaincy from Ponting midway in the IPL 2013 season. The right-handed batsman eventually helped the team clinch their first trophy beating Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. "Rohit’s captaincy has been spot on. In 2013 when we won the title, he took over the captaincy from me and the way he controlled the players on the field is fantastic," Ponting said at the team’s pre-season press conference here. "He understands the game really well and communicates with the players well." Mumbai Indians' 2015 cricket World Cup playing players like Aaron Finch, Rohit, Corey Anderson, Mitchell McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga come straight into the 20-over format. When asked if the switch in format would affect the players, Ponting said: “These guys are all experienced. They have changed formats before in a matter of days. "We have trained really well and hope they will deliver on the given day." Speaking on the new inclusion -- Shane Bond as bowling coach, he said, “Having Shane with us will be terrific. Surely he has had great impact specially on the New Zealand bowlers. "Improvement in Trent Boult and Tim Southee is an example. I hope he can have the same impact on some of the younger guys here.”