Iyer recalls Ponting’s backing that provided confidence boost
India star Shreyas Iyer has lauded the support he got from his Punjab Kings head coach and ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting.
Speaking at a media interaction ahead of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL), where Iyer captains the Punjab Kings, the India batter lavished praise on the Australian legend, who is now his head coach at the IPL.
“He supports everyone. When I worked with him for the first time in the past,” Iyer said.
“He made me feel like I am a great player and I can easily excel in this format. The confidence he gives a player is of a different level.”
Iyer and Ponting had previously collaborated at the Delhi franchise in the Indian Premier League.
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Earlier in the year, the India batter had received high praise from Ponting ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 when the former Australia captain, in an episode of The ICC Review, tipped Iyer to be one of India’s key players in the tournament.
“He's got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world,” Ponting said of Iyer.
"We know how good a hitter of spin bowling he is and teams tend not to bowl a lot of spin at India. But at some stage it's going to come.
“(And) if Shreyas is out in the middle, then he's as good as anyone.”
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Iyer proved Ponting right by being an important part of India’s successful Champions Trophy campaign.
He was the highest run-getter for the three-time Champions Trophy winners, with 243 runs at an average of 48.6. He played crucial hands in match-winning chases in the knockout contests against Australia (45) and New Zealand (48).
The batter was at his elegant best particularly when the opposition tried to strangle India’s chase with their spin, by expertly finding gaps and keeping India’s rate equal to the ask.
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Now, discussing the prospect of teaming up with Iyer at Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, Ponting showed trust in the batter’s leadership skills and said the 30-year-old was a natural leader.
“He's a great human being. He is an IPL-winning captain (with KKR in 2024). We could not have asked for more,” Ponting said during the media interaction.
“He has only joined the camp a couple of days ago, so he is starting to make his mark on the team as a captain and as a leader and that will evolve over the next few days before we get into our first game.
“But as I said, I could not have been happier.”