Chandigarh, Mar 18 (UNI) Punjab Kings Head Coach Ricky Ponting on Tuesday praised skipper Shreyas Iyer, saying the seasoned campaigner has started making his mark on the team within a couple of days of joining the camp ahead of the upcoming IPL season.
The former Australian captain said he was looking forward to working with Iyer again.
“He's a great human being. He is an IPL winning captain. We could not have asked for more. 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,” said Ponting.
The two-time World Cup-winning skipper Ponting said, “We have had a really good mix of youth and experience. We have really high-quality of Indian players and some really high-quality overseas players as well.”
“I am elated with how the squad has come together. We had our first session here last night which went really good. The boys have trained really well,” he added expressing his satisfaction with the combination.
Iyer also expressed his excitement to work again with Ponting and explained how the Aussie great's presence is adding to overall depth to the team. “He supports everyone. When I worked with him for the first time in the past, 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,” he said.
He further deliberated on the team’s objective for the season and said, “The goal is to win the trophy, that's our mindset right now and it's a step-by-step process.”
Meanwhile, team CEO Satish Menon added, “The team is fearless. The youngsters in our squad are fearless. We have a great coach in Ponting and a great IPL-winning captain in Iyer. I don't think you can get bigger than that. We have also focused on building our brand of Punjab and hene we have a lot of players from the state in our squad.”
Punjab Kings are set to begin the campaign on March 25 against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The team will then return to their home ground, the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh for two home games against Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. UNI GS SSP