The Ricky Ponting-Shreyas Iyer chemistry: Mutual respect and complementing each other

ponting-1 — PBKS Captain Shreyas Iyer(L) with Coach Ricky Ponting (R)

On Monday, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) put out a picture on their X (formerly Twitter) handle, as they rewound to their IPL title triumph in 2024. The group photo with the cup at the centre of a banquet table was accompanied by a post: “A day that will live in our hearts, forever. Celebrating 1 year of our third IPL crown.” Shreyas Iyer was left out of the celebratory post, although acknowledging his contribution would have been classy. KKR didn’t win their third IPL title only with their retained players.

Check out the tweet from KKR here

A day that will live in our hearts, forever 🥹

Celebrating 1 year of our third IPL crown 👑 💜 pic.twitter.com/EqAzfse5jK

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 26, 2025

The franchise’s penny-wise and pound-foolish retention strategy saw them part ways with their title-winning captain ahead of the mega auction. They rather decided to put all their eggs in one basket and forked out Rs 23.75 crore for Venkatesh Iyer. The defending champions finished eighth this term with 12 points from 14 matches and Iyer was a failure – 142 runs in seven innings.

As for the other Iyer, Shreyas, he moved to Punjab Kings for Rs 26.75 crore and his team are now just two wins away from lifting their maiden IPL crown. By Shreyas’s own admission, he didn’t get the “recognition” he deserved at KKR. At PBKS, he and his coach, Ricky Ponting, have been complementing each other.

PBKS built from scratch this season, and Ponting and Shreyas were always the preferred combination, given the chemistry between the two and the way they had gelled at Delhi Daredevils as well. Ponting, a bonafide legend of the game, is doing his job behind the scenes, allowing Shreyas to be at the forefront. After PBKS’ comprehensive win over MI on Monday, the head coach lavished praise on his captain.

“I was pretty keen to work with him (Shreyas) again,” Ponting told the host broadcaster. “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 (2020) in Delhi under his captaincy.”

Then, Ponting gave the lowdown on Shreyas the person and why the franchise needed someone like him to change the team culture.

“I have known him as a person and as a player for a long time,” said the Australian master. “He is a quality person and when you have got quality people around your team, when you are trying to make a difference and you are 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.”

Shreyas is arguably the best captain of this IPL, tactically smart on the field and good at man-management off it. “He has pumped them (teammates) up, he has given them a pat on the back when they needed it, and he has given them a kick in the pants when they have needed it as well, which is a sign of a really good and strong leader”, Ponting tipped his hat.

Shreyas returned the favour. “He (Ponting) just gives me the freedom to go out there and express myself, especially being decisive on the field,” the PBKS captain said on the broadcast. “I tell him that ‘you do the thinking outside, let me go and execute things on the field’. All these things have culminated in a great way.”

Since time immemorial, the role of a cricket coach is to play second fiddle to his captain. A football-style managerial authority might not work in this sport.