 IPL will mend ties between Indian and Aussie players: Ponting
12th Apr 2008 23:01 IST
Agencies
Australian captain Ricky Ponting feels that the acrimony between his side and the Indians in the tour Down Under earlier this year had been blown out of proportion.
"A lot more was made of the last Australian series than I thought what happened," Ponting said while addressing newspersons in Kolkata along with 'Knight Riders' coach John Buchanan after a day's workout in sweltering heat as mercury almost touched 40 degree Celsius.
Ponting felt though there were misunderstandings between the players of the two teams, the matter was sorted out after the Sidney Test
"And the rest of the summer was really played in very good spirits," he said.
Ponting felt the Indian Premier League would help the Indian and Australian players to understand each other better.
"Some of the players we will be playing alongside are some of the players we played against a month ago. It is an opportunity for Australian and Indian players to understand and know each other better."
Ponting said his side would "sadly miss" Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who is likely to miss IPL after being slapped a five-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
"He would have been a valuable acquisition for the team. I must admit his style of bowling in this format of the game would be sadly missed if he is not playing for us. But if that's the case we can't do much about it."
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