IPL 2025 | ‘I was pretty keen to work with him again’ - Ponting on his bond with Shreyas Iyer

‌Punjab Kings went to the top of the Indian Premier League 2025 points table with a clinical seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday. With that win, PBKS also ensured that they would play in Qualifier 1 with a win directly taking them to the finals.

It was also the first time since 2014 that PBKS were making it to the playoffs of the IPL but coach Ricky Ponting preferred to stay grounded and stressed that the team is yet to achieve anything this season.

"I'm obviously very pleased for the group," Ponting was quoted as saying to the broadcasters after the match. "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. It's a really happy group and we've enjoyed our time in each other's company for the last ten weeks, but we've got another week to go yet."

Ricky Ponting and PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer have built a very successful combination in the IPL with the duo together making it to the playoffs of the tournament for the third time. They were together at the Delhi Capitals, as coach and captain, when the side made it to the top four in 2019 after a gap of seven seasons. The pair went a step further in 2020 with the team reaching their first final in the history of the competition, though they lost to Mumbai Indians in the summit clash.

"I was pretty keen to work with him again. It was pretty obvious 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 [IPL 2020] in Delhi under his captaincy,” Ponting mentioned.

"I've known him as a person and as a player for a long time. 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. 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."

Shreyas also echoed Ponting on the comfort levels of working together and acknowledged that the Australian gives the freedom to express themselves on the field and brings the best out of him and the team.

"He just gives me that freedom to go out there and express myself, especially being decisive on the field," Shreyas said. "I tell him that 'You do the thinking outside, let me go and execute things on the field'. So yeah, all these things have culminated in a great way and I'm kind of ecstatic that everything is working.”

"Ricky has been fantastic with the player management. And for me, it's important to gain the trust of each and every individual. And that happened initially by winning the matches. And the more interactions you have with the players, the more confidence they get,” the PBKS captain added.