 "Ponting admits Shreyas Iyer was critical for changing culture at PBKS: 'He's given them a kick in the pants'")
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, who has now set a new captaincy record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) .
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.
Ponting praises Iyer for setting new captaincy benchmark
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 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,” Ponting, who led Punjab’s Rs 26.75 crore bid for 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.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPonting underlined 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.
Pntings reminds PBKS IPL 2025 is yet not over
While a top-two finish is great, Ponting knows that PBKS have a long way to go before they win the IPL trophy.
“I’m obviously very pleased for the group. It’s a lot of hard work that goes into being able to achieve something like this as a team. I think it’s pretty obvious to see that this is a really talented team that are all on the same page and heading in the same direction,” Ponting said.
“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.
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