Ricky Ponting & Shreyas Iyer. Pic Credits: X

IPL 2025 : PBKS Head Coach Ricky Ponting Reveals How The Franchise Went To Buy Shreyas Iyer buy At Mega Auction

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IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer bagged a Rs 26.75 crore paycheque with the Punjab Kings at the 2025 player auction. Shreyas Iyer is set to reunite with his ex-Delhi Capitals coach at the Kings and Ponting revealed that they were willing to go even higher for him at the auction.

The star India National Cricket Team batter Shreyas Iyer has said that his next big goal is to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy with the Punjab Kings (PBKS). Shreyas Iyer stated that he is ‘super excited’ to be a part of Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and added that he is aiming to end the title drought of the franchise.

Shreyas Iyer, likely captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS), aims to extend his sensational trophy-winning run in 2025 and secure the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 title for the franchise. PBKS acquired Shreyas Iyer for a whopping Rs 26.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction after the batter led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in 2024.

Shreyas Iyer acquired by PBKS for INR 26.75 crore

Shreyas Iyer guided the Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) to their third title in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. However, he was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

It was expected that he would be bought by the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the auction, but that didn’t happen and the Punjab Kings acquired his services for a whopping INR 26.75 crore. PBKS entered the mega auction with the biggest purse, and they built the squad from scratch. With new head coach Ricky Ponting at the helm, they managed to build a decent squad.

Ponting and Iyer share a great bond, and the duo took Delhi Capitals (DC) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) final in 2020, where they unfortunately lost to the Mumbai Indians (MI). Talking more about other major acquisitions of Punjab Kings, the franchise also roped in Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal for INR 18 crore each.

The IPL is the next upcoming tournament which will feature ten teams and some of the biggest names in T20 cricket. This will be the 18th edition of the tournament and there have been some big changes in all the squads in the mega auction and some new combinations can be discussed.

There were some big buys in the auction and one of the most expensive players was who was bought for a whopping price of INR 26.75 cr by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and was also named the new skipper of the franchise. There were discussions over Punjab putting a lot of money on Iyer and this also led to head coach Ricky Ponting open up on putting a lot of money on the 2023 ODI World Cup finalist and also mentioned the need to have a strong Indian core.

PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting makes stunning revelation on Shreyas Iyer buy at IPL 2025 auction

Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting said he and the franchise were willing to go all-out on Shreyas Iyer during the IPL 2025 auction to ensure he did not land with the Delhi Capitals (DC). PBKS and DC were involved in a bidding war for Iyer before the batter was finally acquired by the former at a whooping price of ₹26.75 crores.

Ponting and Iyer worked with each other as head coach and captain for DC from the middle of 2018 to 2020. The partnership was highly successful with DC qualifying for the playoffs in 2019 and finishing runners-up in 2020.

Ponting remained with DC until the 2024 season before parting ways after a seven-year run.

Talking about PBKS’ strategy to buy Iyer in the Howie Games Podcast, Ricky Ponting said [via Indiatvnews]:

“At the end of the day, it’s the Indian Premier League. It’s not so much about the overseas guys. The overseas guys create a lot of hype, they go for a lot of money or whatever. But as far as I am concerned, I need to bring right Indian players back into the team. So we start with Shreyas Iyer, who I’ve worked with at Delhi. He [Iyer] went for more than what we expected. There was a team that I was bidding against that I was pretty keen to make sure that he didn’t go there.”

Shreyas Iyer showcased his captaincy skills by leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in the 2024 season. He was recently appointed PBKS skipper for the upcoming 2025 IPL season.

Ricky Ponting acknowledged veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal going for a lot more than what PBKS had originally budgeted for before the IPL 2025 auction. The franchise acquired Chahal for ₹18 crores after he was released by the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

PBKS also used their Right-To-Match (RTM) option to bring back left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh for ₹18 crores.

“Arshdeep went first, which was one of our players from last year. We had a chance to retain on 18 cr, he went for 18 cr so we locked him in. Next Shreyas was second. Then Yuzi Chahal, the leg-spinner. You talk about people and characters, he was a non-negotiable for me as well. We budgeted a certain amount for him and he went a lot above,” said Ponting.

PBKS have endured a dismal past few seasons in the IPL, having last qualified for the playoffs way back in 2014. Overall, they have finished in the top four only twice in 17 seasons, leaving them desperate for a turnaround under a new coach and captain in Ponting and Shreyas Iyer.

The former Australian captain’s tactical insights and wealth of experience will be invaluable as Shreyas Iyer looks to steer the team toward its maiden IPL title. The synergy between Ponting and Shreyas Iyer is expected to be a major strength for Punjab Kings, and fans are hopeful that the team’s combination of fresh leadership and renewed momentum will break the franchise’s title drought.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights


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