Shreyas Iyer, who had a golden run as captain across formats in the 2024-25 season, will have the odds stacked against him when he aims for a turnaround in the fortunes of his new IPL (Indian Premier League) franchise Punjab Kings. The Indian batter was officially named the captain for the team, where he will be joining forces with his erstwhile head coach Ricky Ponting again.
The whole of last year was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the Mumbaikar, who was struck off the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) central contracts list, but went on to win four titles in domestic cricket as well as the IPL.
Iyer was in decent form with the bat too, as he helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) end its 10-year title drought in 2024, apart from captaining Mumbai to victory in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was also part of Mumbai’s triumph in both the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy, further cementing his leadership credentials.
‘’I am honoured to have the team’s trust in me. I am looking forward to working with coach Ricky Ponting again. The team has a strong mix of promising talent and experienced performers, and I’m eager to help deliver our first IPL title,’’ said Iyer, who became the second highest paid player in IPL history with a price tag of Rs 26.75 crore (behind Rishabh Pant at Rs 27 crore) in the mega auction.
It was a calculated gamble on the part of Iyer, who freed himself up by not agreeing to KKR's terms, and the move turned out to be a windfall for him. While he has now made history as the first player to captain three IPL franchises (Delhi Capitals and KKR before this), the challenge will be to resurrect the fortunes of an underwhelming franchise like Punjab Kings, which last made the play-offs in 2014 when it went all the way to the final.
The Punjab Kings team management is possibly hoping to reignite the chemistry between Iyer and Ponting, since the two collaborated to make Capitals the runners-up for the first time in 2020. The three-year cycle under them saw a resurgence in Delhi’s fortunes, but a lot of it rested on the Indian batting core of captain Iyer, an in-form Prithvi Shaw, and Pant.
Interestingly, Ponting has come on board for PBKS for a four-year term, possibly taking a cue from recent events, which showed that the team head coach’s position had become a sort of revolving door.
Fellow Australian Trevor Bayliss, a two-time IPL winning coach, was at the helm in 2023-24, while others in the hot seat were Anil Kumble (2020-22), Mike Hesson (2019) and Brad Hodge (2018). What’s more, there were allegations of managerial interference as well as frequent chopping and changing of the playing XI, which are not going to make life any easier for a strong personality like Ponting or a tried and tested skipper like Iyer.
IPL dates
Meanwhile, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said after a general body meeting on Sunday that the IPL and WPL (Women’s Premier League), are set to commence on 23 March and 7 February, respectively. The finals of both tournaments will be held on 25 May and 2 March, respectively.
Earlier, some reports suggested that the IPL would kick off on 14 March, but it seems that the BCCI is making concessions to allow players across countries some rest after the ICC Champions Trophy, whose final is scheduled to be held on 9 March.
Shukla revealed that WPL 2025 would be played across four venues: Baroda, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Lucknow, which means four out of five WPL teams will be able to enjoy home crowd support in 2025, with only two-time finalists Delhi Capitals being the team to play all games at away venues.
