After missing out on the IPL title, Shreyas Iyer is keen to done one better in the 2026, Punjab Kings’ head coach Ricky Ponting said on Monday. Iyer, who guided Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 season to title, was roped in by PBKS and he didn’t disappoint. Under Iyer’s captaincy, PBKS topped the points table in the group stage and went on to qualify for the final, where they lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. “The level of play that we saw from him last year with the bat was probably as good as he’s ever had in an IPL and I can just see that hunger in his eyes probably burning more than ever now,” Ricky Ponting told the reporters ahead of Punjab’s first game against Gujarat Titans. “Having got so close as a captain with a new team last year, I’m sure that he’s very keen to go one step better this year,” the head coach said. Successful partnership The duo have spent significant time together having previously worked at Delhi Capitals and Ponting said that they both think alike. “We’ve worked together a lot now. We must have had maybe four or five years together at Delhi. When I got this role and realised that Shreyas was going into the mega auction, then I made sure I had enough money in my purse to be able to buy him at the auction,” Ponting said. The duo of Ponting and Iyer had a successful reign with Delhi Capitals where they finished runner ups in IPL 2021 and continued it further at Punjab taking them to the final last season. “I was really keen to work with Shreyas again (and) things worked out really quickly for us last year.” “We’ve both got very similar ideas and mantras on the game. It’s not uncommon for us to be walking towards one another with a thought in our mind, and we get together and it’s exactly the same thing that we go to think about,” Ponting added. However, the duo is looking to start all over again in the season said Ricky Ponting. “Our level of cricket last year was good enough for us to finish on top of the table, but that doesn’t mean anything going into a new season. I talked a lot last year about this team that we put together as being different and (playing) a really daring style and brand of cricket, and we’ve got to start that all over again. It’s nil-nil now for everybody,” he said.
‘Hunger to win IPL burning more than ever now in Iyer’s eyes’, says Ricky Ponting
