Ricky Ponting denies batting consultant role with Cricket Australia, says he's committed to Mumbai Indians

New Delhi: Ricky Ponting on Friday claimed that he is not in talks with Cricket Australia (CA) for the widely reported batting consultant role.

CA executive general manager of team performance, Pat Howard recently said that he would love to have the most successful cricket captain as a batting consultant with the national side, with discussions between the two parties having already taken place.

A report on ESPNCricinfo, however, said that the 40-year-old is committed to his Mumbai Indians coaching role, family, commentary and charity work.

"I've had no formal discussions with Cricket Australia about a role. I have always said that one day I would like to get more involved with the young batters around the country but at the moment I'm fully committed to my family, my coaching job at Mumbai, commentary and sponsor commitments and the Ponting Foundation," the report quoted him as saying.

Requirement for a batting consultant for the Australian team arose after they meekly surrendered the all-important Ashes urn to their traditional rivals England. Their batsmen have borne majority of the brunt for the debacle, thanks to terrible batting performances. In the fourth Test match at Trent Bridge, they were folded twice by England to lose by an innings and 78 runs inside three days.

In the five-match series, they now trail 1-3 to England with the final Test at The Oval scheduled for August 20 to 24. And following the Ashes collapse, speculations were rife about Ponting joining the national team as a batting consultant.

With an imperious batting record and also proven leadership skills, Ponting – if available – would be a vital addition to any team, at least in terms of batting.

In a career spanning over seventeen years, Ponting scored 41 Test centuries at an average of 51.85. He has another 30 tons in One-Day Internationals, with an even impressive average of 55.90; thus establishing himself as one of the batting greats.

Besides his batting exploits, Punter has overall won 220 matches as the Aussie captain, which includes 48 Test wins and two World Cup titles.