Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has explained the qualities of captain Shreyas Iyer that make him such a consistent skipper and why the franchise did not hesitate to break the bank for the Mumbai cricketer Shreyas Iyer, who has now set a new captaincy record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) .
PBKS have a new captain in Shreyas Iyer, who won the IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders last year, and a new head coach in Ricky Ponting, who worked with Delhi Capitals until last season. This year, the reliable Shreyas Iyer will lead the team as captain. He has previously captained teams like the Delhi Capitals and the defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders.
PBKS sealed the top-two spot on Monday with a seven-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. A top-two spot allows you to have two cracks in the playoffs at the final spot, which is, frankly speaking, a massive luxury in a high-pressure tournament like the IPL.
Ricky Ponting praises Shreyas Iyer for setting new captaincy benchmark in IPL
Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has said that one of the things that makes Shreyas Iyer ‘a great leader’ is his understanding of when to appreciate players and ‘when to give them a kick’.
The Ponting-Iyer partnership that took Delhi Capitals to their only final in 2020 has now helped PBKS qualify for the playoffs this year — for the first time since 2014. By beating Mumbai Indians on Monday, they also secured a top-two finish and a chance to play the first Qualifier. Shreyas Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third title in 2024, has been praised immensely for leading this turnaround.
Iyer is the only captain in IPL history to help three teams finish in the top two. He achieved the same feat in 2020 with Delhi Capitals (DC) and then with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2024.
After the match, Ponting, who worked with Shreyas Iyer at DC, said that he needed a “quality person” like the Indian cricketer to change the culture at PBKS and Eye is a player who can play multiple roles.
“I was pretty keen to work with him, Iyer, again,”
Ricky Ponting, who led Punjab’s Rs 26.75 crore bid for Shreyas Iyer at the auction, said.
“It was pretty obvious that how much money I was willing to spend on him at the auction. We had a great working relationship in Delhi, we made a final in Delhi under his captaincy.
“I’ve known him as a person and as a player for a long time. He’s a quality person, and when you’ve got quality people around your team when you’re trying to make a difference, and you’re trying to change culture, that’s what you need,” Ponting told Star Sports.
Ricky Ponting underlined Shreyas Iyer’s ability to adapt to situations and the time he spends with his players.
“If you spoke to the players individually, I think every single one of them would give Shreyas a great rap because he has spent a lot of time with them. He’s pumped them up, he’s given them a pat on the back when they needed it, and he’s given them a kick in the pants when they’ve needed it as well, which is a sign of a really good and strong leader,” he added.
Ricky Ponting reminds PBKS IPL 2025 is yet not over
The coach also sent his team a message to be grounded despite the achievements so far. He said that although a top-two finish was a goal, they ‘haven’t achieved anything’ substantial yet.
“I mean yeah, it’s a great achievement till now but really, if you look back, we haven’t achieved anything yet,” Ponting said
“That’s the one thing I’ve been saying to the players since the moment we qualified. This is a really talented team that are all on the same page and heading in the same direction. The vision was always to finish in the top two — we’ve got there now. But we’ve got another week to go.”
“I mean, yeah, it’s a great achievement till now, but really, if you look back, we haven’t achieved anything yet. That’s the one thing I’ve been saying to the players since the moment we qualified,” he added.
PBKS are among the three original teams, besides DC and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB,) who are yet to win the IPL title.PBKS’ first qualifier opponents will be Royal Challengers Bengaluru to be played on Thursday and Ricky Ponting believes Shreyas Iyer and team has all the confidence to take PBKS directly to the Finals on June 3.