Ponting to miss forthcoming IPL season

Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting pulled out of the forthcoming season of the Indian Premier League in May, preferring to stay fresh for the Ashes and the World Twenty20 tournament.

Ponting, who was in South Africa with the Australian team, wrote in his Friday column in The Australian newspaper that spending time with his wife Rianna and baby daughter Emmy was also a key factor.

"I have made the decision I will not play in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition this year," Ponting said.

"My country comes first and there was no way I could give my all for Australia if I used the only two-week break we have to go and play in India.”

"I could have played for two weeks in the IPL and in many ways that is not satisfactory, not for the (Kolkata) Knight Riders and not for Australian cricket either."

Ponting was expected to make a reported $150,000 for this year's IPL contract.

Australia's South African tour finishes on April 17, followed by five one-dayers against Pakistan, possibly in the United Arab Emirates.

Some Australian players will head to the IPL for a couple of weeks with their Indian franchises after the Pakistan series.

Ponting also said that one of the reasons for his opting out of the second season of the IPL was to focus on the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup later this year.

The squad will travel to England on May 31 for the World Twenty20 and the five-Test Ashes series against England which starts on July 8 in Cardiff.

"Part of the reason I decided to withdraw from the IPL is that Twenty20 is such a physically demanding game and you have to be at your best to play the game and I want to be at my best for the (Twenty20) World Cup.”

The Australian skipper also admitted that although he is in good shape at the moment, “there is a bit of tiredness after the summer.”

"It (not playing in IPL) is not an indication of any intention to ease myself out of Twenty20 cricket. I am really looking forward to the (Twenty20) World Cup. It's one trophy we do not have on the shelf and have never had," Ponting said.

The 34-year-old right-hander wished to thank his franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, for its support and understanding through his predicament.

Ponting is the third Australian player to opt out of the second season of the IPL after fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and batsman Michael Clarke.

The Kolkata franchise, led by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, is said to be searching for a replacement to fill in the void left by Ponting.

The second season of the IPL gets underway on April 10 this year.