Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach Ricky Ponting mentioned he couldn’t wait to work with Shreyas Iyer again at his new team, remembering their time together at Delhi Capitals (DC). PBKS picked up Iyer for a huge Rs. 26.75 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction, making him the second-most expensive player ever in the tournament.
Last season, Shreyas captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title but was let go before the auction. The guy from Mumbai had joined KKR from DC three years before. Back in 2020, Shreyas was the captain and Ponting was the coach when DC made their first IPL final.
I really wanted to team up with Shreyas again, Ponting said at a press conference before the season. We worked really well together at Delhi for a while. He’s one of the best players I’ve coached. He’s a good person, and he’s won an IPL as captain. What more could you want? He just got here a couple of days ago, so he’s starting to influence the team as a captain and leader. We’ve built a great team. As everyone knows, the captain-coach relationship is key, and I think we’ve got a really good one here, he added.
Ponting also talked about PBKS’ trouble playing at home. Last season, they only won one of five matches at their new home stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh. The team ended up ninth in the standings.
From what I see, if you don’t win at home, you won’t win the IPL, Ponting said. That’s a big reason why I’m here now. I wanted a real coaching test, and this is it. But we don’t have any pressure. What do we have to lose, since we’ve never won? We’re going to go out there and play exciting cricket, and I know we have the players who can do it.
PBKS starts their IPL 2025 season against the Gujarat Titans on March 25.