Will Shreyas Iyer captain Punjab Kings in IPL 2025? PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting has his say

Shreyas Iyer was bought for INR 26.75 crore by Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Shreyas Iyer is the second-most expensive player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history as Punjab Kings (PBKS) shelled out INR 26.75 crore on the Mumbai batsman in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

At the time of the purchase, Iyer had become the most expensive buy in the IPL auction but was soon pipped over by Rishabh Pant, who was bought for INR 27 crore by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Iyer had parted ways with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) even though he led them to the IPL 2024 title. PBKS staved off competition from Delhi Capitals (DC), one of Iyer’s former franchise, to secure his services.

Ricky Ponting almost confirms Shreyas Iyer as captain of PBKS for IPL 2025

PBKS had retained only two players – Shashank Singh (INR 5.5 crore), Prabhsimran Singh (INR 4 crore) – both uncapped – before the mega auction and went into the event with a complete revamp in mind.

One of their main targets was Iyer, who they secured for a bumper price, and head coach Ricky Ponting has all but confirmed him as the new skipper.

“He’ll be a great leader for our team if we decide to go that way, which I’m pretty sure we probably will,” Ponting said on Sunday.

Ponting and Iyer worked together at Delhi Capitals when Iyer led DC to the IPL 2020 final, which they lost to Mumbai Indians.

“I wanted to work with Shreyas. I’ve worked with him before and he is a great guy and a great player. He’ll be a great leader for our team if we decide to go that way, which I’m pretty sure we probably will. And obviously, he was the championship-winning captain last year. So there are lots of great things about bringing him to Punjab,” Ponting told Star Sports.

Other big buys made by Punjab were Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal, both for INR 18 crore each.

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