Ponting excited to lead Mumbai

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is very keen to perform for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, a tournament in which he took part only for a while in its inaugural edition in 2008.

"I am very excited to be back in IPL," Ponting, who will skipper the franchise this season, told ESPNcricinfo.

"The way things have worked out - with my retirement from international cricket and finishing off the domestic season for Tasmania and playing well - they have given me the opportunity to be back here.

"The reason I did not come back for IPL 2 and 3 was because I had too much international cricket on at that time. And now that I don't have international cricket, the opportunities for me to play in these domestic tournaments are really opening up."

Ponting is very excited to be playing alongside Sachin Tendulkar, against whom he has played many times at the international level.

"To be captain of any franchise is exciting but to think that I am the captain of Mumbai Indians and I will be playing alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, some of the guys I have had great battles over the years, as well as some of my Australian team-mates. Some of the young local Indian talent I have come across in the last couple of days is great. "

After the IPL ends in May, Ponting will head to England for two months to play for Surrey and then to the West Indies for nearly five weeks to play in the Caribbean Premier League which begins on July 29.