From the cricket field to the team boardrooms, Ricky Ponting’s demeanor has a calming effect on his team. His clarity in the thought process speaks volumes about his man-management skills. He has all the answers on how to manage raw talent, how to inspire loyalty from the players and how to turn around a team in crisis.

If last year’s brilliant turnaround is taken into account, Ponting’s ability to remain unperturbed comes to the fore. And in news that could delight the fans is that the former Australian captain sees shades of the same virtue in Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma. The legendary batsman-turned-coach has set his team the target of qualifying for the Playoffs in the 2016 season.

Here are the excerpts from his interview to IPLT20.com

How have the preparations been going on in the camp?

The practice sessions have been going very good and I along with the other coaching staff, have been here for almost two weeks now. We had the domestic players in first and the attitude in the camp has been first class. The international guys have arrived in the last couple of days and we have been easing them into their training preparation. With the full squad in now, I am looking forward to have a full-fledged practice session and definitely looking forward to our first game on Saturday.

After last season, you gave India Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Tell us more about the duo.

Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are two very exciting young Indian players. Bumrah was coming out of an injury in the last season and therefore he wasn’t at his best, but to see him where he is now, is a matter of pride. He has bowled very well for us in the practice games. He looks fit than ever before, he’s bowling quick and his execution has been fantastic.

Hardik Pandya on the other hand, yes, he has represented India in the past couple of months, but he hasn’t had much opportunity with the bat as he would have liked. There is every chance that with us he would get more opportunity with the bat. He is an exceptional fielder and can give us a few overs with the ball too.

As a coach, to see this young Indian talent emerge and grow around the MI set-up is fantastic.

What does the former Australian captain make of the new Englishman – Jos Buttler?
I only got to meet Jos quickly in the last couple of days and I have been ultra impressed with the way he has played his cricket and especially his performance in the shorter format of the game. He would be one of the top five batsmen in the world in the Twenty20 format. He was one of the players we had targeted in the auction and we are lucky enough to have him in the MI squad. Having that quality of player in the squad creates great competition for a spot in our side, which as a coach is also great.

How important is John Wright’s role in talent scouting? Bumrah is a huge success story.

John has had a significant role to play for the Mumbai Indians over the years. Not to forget, MI won an IPL title with him being the head coach in 2013. We also have other guys like Robin Singh, Rahul Sanghvi and Kiran More, who have been working hard in the background and we will hopefully find the next group of Indian superstars. We have a few of this young Indian talent in the squad and as a coach of the team it is my job to bring the best out of them.

Talking about captaincy, Ricky, how would you rate Rohit Sharma as the captain of the side on a scale of 1-10 and why?

Rohit is an excellent captain. He is very calm and a neutral sort of person which is vital for a leadership role. His emotions never get too high when the team is performing well and neither do they get too low when they are not performing, which is a great sign for a leader.

As a coach my role is to make the captain’s job as easy as possible. I give him all the appropriate information that he needs, leading into a game and through the course of the game and then just let him use his instincts while he is on the field.

Wankhede tracks have witnessed high scoring games in the recent past. How good is it to have the likes of Bumrah, Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan in your armoury?

The Wankhede has yielded a lot of runs in the recent past (229 and 230 during the WT20 match between South Africa and England). We know that defending runs can be a challenge on this ground, but we have done that in the last season. With the likes Bumrah, McClenaghan, Southee and two quality spinners like Harbhajan Singh and J Suchith, I am sure, if the batters put up a good score on the board, our bowling group will be able to defend it.

Three ICC Cricket World Cups, two IPL titles. Are you ready to add more silverware at the end of this season?

It will be nice to win another title, but I am certainly not thinking about it right now. I am trying to get the players to get in the right frame of mind and get going for the first game. The target for this team going into the tournament will be to win enough games and get into the final.