Shreyas Iyer, the new captain of Punjab Kings, is preparing himself for a long-haul in the Indian cricket term, by batting at No.3 position at the IPL 2025.
Iyer, under whom KKR lifted its second title last year, also said that there is no proper planning for his batting position and he will like to step in at No.3 if their coach Ricky Ponting approves.
“We already know that IPL is an integral part of Indian cricket. And If I would want to mark myself at some position in T20, it would be number 3,” Iyer said at the season-opening media interaction seated alongside head coach Ricky Ponting. “
It will also be crucial for cement the NO.3 spot in the run up to T20 World Cup 2026 and LA 2028.
And that’s what I’m focusing at. I wouldn’t say that we are planning and thinking about what number I will be batting. This time I’m quite clear about that position. And I’m going to be focusing on that number as long as the coach approves of me,” he added.
Iyer has reunited with the former Australia captain after the duo formed a clinical partnership in Delhi Capitals, taking them into the playoffs in 2019 to 2021, including the final in 2020.
The Mohali outfit emptied their bank to fetch Iyer for INR 26.75 crore. Ponting said, he was pretty clear about the role for Iyer.
“If you look back at the auction, I think it was pretty clear to everyone who I wanted as my captain,” Ponting said. “And we got what we wanted. I was desperate to work with Shreyas again. We had a great working relationship at Delhi over a long period of time. He’s one of the best players that I’ve worked with. He’s a great human being. He’s an IPL-winning captain. You couldn’t ask for much more.
“We’ve got the best leader that we could possibly hope for. And we’ve had a lot of great times and success together. I think we understand each other really well. As you know, the captain-coach relationship in any team is vital.”
Punjab Kings had a poor run in IPL 2024. They won only one of their seven matches.
“What I understand is that if you are not winning at home, you are not winning the IPL,” Ponting said. “It’s one of the main reasons that I’m sitting here now. I wanted a really strong coaching challenge. And we’ve got that. But there’s no pressure on us. What have we got to lose?
“We’re going to go out and play a really dynamic and entertaining brand of cricket. And I know we’ve got the players that can do that.”
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