"I found that quite funny" - South African legend reacts to Shreyas Iyer's announcement as Punjab Kings captain for IPL 2025 on a popular OTT show

Former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers found it amusing that Shreyas Iyer was announced as Punjab Kings' (PBKS) new captain ahead of IPL 2025 on the popular OTT show Bigg Boss. The 40-year-old felt it might be a new way of doing things but he would've stuck to old ways - press conference and an official announcement. Iyer was roped in by the franchise as the second costliest IPL player for ₹26.75 crore.

Notably, Bollywood actress Preity Zinta co-owns Punjab Kings and she enjoys a good friendship with Bigg Boss show host Salman Khan. It’s also worth mentioning that both Bigg Boss and IPL are aired on Jio Cinema.

Commenting on the announcement, AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel:

"Shreyas Iyer is appointed as the captain of the Punjab Kings in a very odd way, on a TV show. I found that quite funny. Maybe, it is the new way of doing things. I am generally used to a press conference and a formal announcement but this was actually maybe quite refreshing in a way."

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend further heaped praise on Iyer for leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to championship last season, adding that he could be a huge loss to the Kolkata-based franchise. He said:

"He’s had some success with KKR, winning the IPL, and leading them to victory. That was absolutely incredible and a big loss for KKR to be honest. I feel Shreyas handled the IPL so well immense pressure, and so many quality teams against you, all the players. Shreyas found a way to keep things calm and composed in that KKR unit."

"It’s great to see the two of them together" - AB de Villiers backs Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting ro turn Punjab Kings fortunes in IPL

AB de Villiers further backed Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting to turn around Punjab Kings' fortunes in IPL 2025. He said in the same video:

"But he is with Punjab Kings this year and it’s great to see him under the coaching of Ricky Ponting. Ponting is one of the best players that ever played this game, he’s got an incredibly smart cricket brain on his shoulders and it’s great to see the two of them together. I think they’ve got a good side guys and finally, we might just see Punjab Kings have a good season."

De Villiers called Iyer a natural leader and backed him to flourish under Ponting's coaching. He added:

"It’s been a while, right? It’s been a while since we’ve seen them in the knockout stages and it will be good for the tournament. So, yes, I think Shreyas Iyer will feed off Ricky Ponting. Shreyas already comes with a lot of experience because he actually won that IPL last year. I think he’s a natural leader and he’s got a very good side to work with."

Besides IPL, Shreyas Iyer recently led Mumbai to Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy. Meanwhile, Ponting has joined Punjab after a seven-year stint with Delhi Capitals (DC).

PBKS have not reached the playoffs since IPL 2014, when they played the final.

PBKS IPL 2025 Squad: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey.