Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has showered praise on head coach Ricky Ponting after reunion for the upcoming Indian Premier League. Iyer and Ponting worked together for Delhi Capitals and led the franchise to the final of the IPL 2020 but they could not cross the final hurdle against MI.
Meanwhile, Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to glory in IPL 2024 and he was bagged by the Mohali-based franchise for a whopping amount of INR 26.75 crore in IPL 2025 mega auction.
Iyer recalled that Ponting gave him a lot of confidence when he was Delhi Capitals’ head coach.
“He supports everyone. When I worked with him for the first time in the past, he made me feel like I am a great player and I can easily excel in this format. The confidence he gives a player is of a different level,” Iyer said of the Australian during a media interaction in Chandigarh on Tuesday (March 18).
The Mumbai batter said the aim is to win the IPL trophy and they want to take one game at a time in the upcoming season.
“The goal is to win the trophy, that’s our mindset right now and it’s a step-by-step process, it’s not like you wake up in the morning and do it but the way we’re practicing right now and the way we’re sharing our wavelength and camaraderie with each other, it’s going really well.”
On the other hand, Ponting was also full of praise for Iyer, calling him a great human and a leader.
“He’s a great human being. He is an IPL-winning captain. We could not have asked for more. He has only joined the camp a couple of days ago so he is starting to make his mark on the team as a captain and as a leader and that will evolve over the next few days before we get into our first game. But as I said, I could not have been happier.”
The former Australian captain said they have a good balance of youth and experience in the squad and they would look to give their best in IPL 2025.
“We have had a really good mix of youth and experience. We have really high-quality Indian players and some really high-quality overseas players as well.
“I am elated with how the squad has come together. We had our first session here last night which went really well. The boys have trained really well.”
Punjab Kings will begin their IPL 2025 campaign against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on March 25.
