Australia to have new captain

Australian captain Ponting is now the former captain of Australia as he steps down as Australian captain’s in both in Test and ODIs following their quarter final exit. But Ricky will continue as a batsman in the team. Michael Clarke is to take over the leadership of Australia.

Ponting said he took his own decision after world cup exit and no one asked him to go.

Ponting wants to travel to Bangladesh in the limited over match. The team will not be selected until Wednesday, but Ponting’s announcement should allow Clarke to assume the captaincy on the tour, before difficult assignments against Sri Lanka and South Africa later in the year.

On his arrival home from an unsuccessful World Cup defence, Ponting had said he was prepared to give up the captaincy and also move down the batting order if it was in the interests of the Australian team. With the benefit of a day’s reflection, he decided that now was the best time to go. At 36, Ponting believed he can still enjoy the type of renaissance that has sustained Sachin Tendulkar in recent times.

Ponting held the Australian Test and one-day captaincy since he took over from Steve Waugh. He led Australia in 77 Tests of which 48 were wins, the most for any captain. He also captained Australia in a record 228 ODIs and won 164, including two World Cups in 2003 and 2007.

Ponting’s fortunes as captain, however, waned along with those of the team as a series of retirements weakened its resources. His Test captaincy culminated in the 3-1 home Ashes defeat in 2010-11 and his one-day reign ended after the elimination from the World Cup