Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting feels his team will need to start from the scratch when they resume their IPL campaign. The Rishabh Pant-led franchise takes on Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22.

“It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the first half of the season. It’s been four months since when we played some really good cricket, so we really have to start again,” Ponting said in a media release.

“We have to build ourselves as we go along in the tournament and make sure that

we are playing our best cricket at the back end of the tournament.

“Our performance in the first half of the tournament was because of how well we played and how hard we worked, but I don’t think we played our best cricket,” the head coach said.

The IPL resumes in the UAE on Sunday. The Capitals are at the top of the points table with six wins from eight matches.

Ponting said that the players have shown great intensity during the pre-season camp.

“I have been waiting for four months to come back to the Delhi Capitals camp. I’ve such a great time when I work with the team and it’s a great time in my calendar year.

“I have been speaking to the coaching staff and they have done a great job so far (in the pre-season camp). You can see with the intensity and the attitude shown by the players that it’s been a really worthwhile camp.

“I am really excited about what we’ve got coming up in the next four-five weeks,” said the 46-year-old.

Ponting said it was great to see Shreyas Iyer back after recovering from a shoulder injury. “It’s great to have Shreyas back. He has got an infectious attitude.

“I have been talking to him a lot and his training has been great. He’s so keen to get back into the field, score runs and win. He’s a world-class player and he’s going to add a lot to our team, there’s no doubt about that.”