Former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting says he is not returning to international cricket after being named Sheffield Shield Player of the Year.
38-year-old Ricky Ponting may be in the twilight years of his career but the batsman is still dominating Australian cricket domestically.
Ponting’s performances for the Tasmanian Tigers in the Sheffield Shield this year has seen him voted as Player of the Year.
The second highest run-scorer in Test history received 18 votes in the Player of the Year poll, two votes ahead of second-placed Chadd Sayers. Queensland Bulls’ Usman Khawaja and New South Wales Blues’ bowler Gurinder Sandhu were tied for third-place with 12 votes each.
Ponting’s form with the bat has seen the Tigers jump to the top spot of the Sheffield Shield table with an outstanding average of 87.50.
It had previously been thought that the former Australian skipper would retire at the end of this season – after a busy summer playing in the IPL, the County Championship for Surrey and the Caribbean Premier League – but now he may extend that proposal.
However, with Australian Test cricket in something of a crisis currently as they face the prospect of a 4-0 whitewash in India, Ponting has ruled himself out of an Ashes return this summer.
“International cricket has long passed me by,” the 38-year-old said on Zee News.
“The decision you take to retire, when you do, is a very big one. I know I put a lot of time and thought into making the decision that I made for all the right reasons.”
Ponting now has the chance to top off a superb season with Tasmania when they face Queensland in the first-class final on Friday.
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