Punjab Kings have been on a roll this IPL season however head coach Ricky Ponting feels the facet has not achieved anything but, declaring {that a} play-off qualification in additional than a decade is merely a job half accomplished at this level.
Punjab Kings convincingly thrashed Mumbai Indians by seven wickets to make sure a high two end within the play-offs and two possibilities to enter the ultimate of the IPL 2025.
“I think it’s pretty obvious to see that this is a really talented team that are all on the same page and heading in the same direction,” Ponting instructed JioHotstar in an interview.
“I mean yeah, it’s a great achievement till now but really, if you look back, we haven’t achieved anything yet. That’s the one thing I’ve been saying to the players since the moment we qualified,” Ponting stated.
“The vision for me was always to finish in the top two, and we’ve got there now. It’s a really happy group and we’ve enjoyed our time in each other’s company for the last ten weeks, but we’ve got another week to go yet,” added the previous Australian skipper.
Ponting was effusive in his reward for skipper Shreyas Iyer. The final time that the Ponting-Iyer duo had been coach and captain, it was for the Delhi Capitals and had steered the franchise into its maiden remaining through the UAE leg in COVID occasions.
“I was pretty keen to work with him (Iyer) again. It was pretty obvious that how much money I was willing to spend on him at the auction,” Ponting stated.
“We had a great working relationship in Delhi, we made a final in Delhi under his captaincy.”
Ponting feels gamers like Iyer make the crew atmosphere nice.
“I’ve known him as a person and as a player for a long time. He’s a quality person and when you’ve got quality people around your team, when you’re trying to make a difference and you’re trying to change culture, that’s what you need,” he stated.
“If you spoke to the players individually, I think every single one of them would give Shreyas a great rap because he has spent a lot of time with them.
“He’s pumped them up, he is given them a pat on the again once they wanted it, and he is given them a kick within the pants once they’ve wanted it as properly, which is an indication of a very good and robust chief.”
Published – May 28, 2025 04:26 am IST
