"It’s his job to get all the players together"- Shreyas Iyer reveals mantra behind Ricky Ponting's success in IPL 2025

Shreyas Iyer was the skipper of Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, while Ricky Ponting was the head coach.

Indian batter Shreyas Iyer has heaped praise on his Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting. Both of them worked together at Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2020 and reunited at PBKS ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

The Iyer-Ponting pair did a wonderful job as the PBKS finished as runners-up of the tournament. They lost the final to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six runs. Notably, the team reached the final for the first time since IPL 2014.

PBKS even failed to reach the playoffs in the last 10 seasons. Their last appearance, before 2025, came in the 2014 edition, where they ended as runners-up. Notably, Iyer and Ponting also guided Delhi Capitals (DC) to the final in the 2020 season, where they finished as runners-up after losing the final to the Mumbai Indians (MI).

When Ricky came in as the coach, he made everyone comfortable: Shreyas Iyer

While speaking to The Quest Talk podcast on YouTube, Iyer revealed how Ponting helped to build the team’s unity in IPL 2025.

“Once you have a good coach, a positive coach, it’s his job to get all the players together and build that form of camaraderie. The gelling that we get together before the matches or the tournaments, it is basically given by the coach,” he said.

“This year, when Ricky came in as the coach, he made everyone comfortable. He instilled the sense that every player belonged to this franchise. He was open and honest about whatever he said,” Iyer added.

“So, once you get that sort of feedback from your coach that you can come back and perform at the best of your abilities, you’re confident enough, and at the back of your mind, you feel very comfortable in the resting room and you can interact with everyone,” he further said.

Notably, PBKS bought Iyer for a whopping amount of Rs. 26.75 crores during the IPL 2025 mega auction. The right-handed batsman gave a wonderful show with the bat, smacking 604 runs in 17 games at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07. Hammering six half-centuries, he finished as the sixth-highest run-scorer in the tournament.

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