Ricky Ponting will be assisting head coach Darren Lehmann during the T20I tri-series against New Zealand and England starting next month.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been added to Darren Lehmann’s coaching staff for the upcoming Trans-Tasman T20 tri-series against New Zealand and England.

Lehmann’s regular coaching staff will be in South Africa preparing for the Test series in March which is why Ponting has been roped in for now.

Australian women’s team head coach Matthew Mott and head of the national performance program Troy Cooley are also part of Lehmann’s team.

Ponting had disclosed that he was in talks with Cricket Australia for the past few months.

“There’s a fair bit of talk about splitting the (head coach) roles up and I’m just delighted my name is one that’s come up for that permanent role down the track,” Ponting said.

Ponting is also open to the idea of coaching Australia full time for the shortest format of the game, where the team has struggled in the past.

“But we’ll wait and see how this goes first. I know I’d enjoy it if I had the opportunity to do it and if I could make it work in with the other commitments I have and with family time.”

“I’m delighted to be involved with the Australian squad again for what should be a terrific series against England and New Zealand,” Ponting said in a statement. “I loved working with the squad last year.

“We have a wealth of talent available to us in this format and a tri-series like this will give us a great chance to establish a pattern of play that works best for the players.”

Australia have embarked on a series of rotating coaching appointments over the last few seasons, with Lehmann already stating he would step down after the next Ashes series in 2019.

Steve Smith’s side regained the Ashes with a 4-0 series result that ended on Monday with an innings and 123-run victory in the fifth and final Test in Sydney.

They face England in five one-day internationals starting on Sunday in Melbourne before the triangular Twenty20 series begins on Feb. 3 in Sydney.

Ponting was last week appointed head coach of Delhi Daredevils for the Indian Premier League 2018 season.

Ponting will take over the reins at DD from former India captain Rahul Dravid, who had stepped down after the previous season owing to BCCI’s conflict-of-interest regulations.

The 43-year-old had earlier coached Mumbai Indians for two seasons in 2015 (when they won the title) and 2016.