"I was pretty keen to make sure that he didn't go there" - PBKS head coach makes stunning revelation on Shreyas Iyer buy at IPL 2025 auction

Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting said he and the franchise were willing to go all-out on Shreyas Iyer during the IPL 2025 auction to ensure he did not land with the Delhi Capitals (DC). PBKS and DC were involved in a bidding war for Iyer before the batter was finally acquired by the former at a whooping price of ₹26.75 crores.

Ponting and Iyer worked with each other as head coach and captain for DC from the middle of 2018 to 2020. The partnership was highly successful with DC qualifying for the playoffs in 2019 and finishing runners-up in 2020.

Ponting remained with DC until the 2024 season before parting ways after a seven-year run.

Talking about PBKS' strategy to buy Iyer in the Howie Games Podcast, Ricky Ponting said [via Indiatvnews]:

"At the end of the day, it's the Indian Premier League. It's not so much about the overseas guys. The overseas guys create a lot of hype, they go for a lot of money or whatever. But as far as I am concerned, I need to bring right Indian players back into the team. So we start with Shreyas Iyer, who I've worked with at Delhi. He [Iyer] went for more than what we expected. There was a team that I was bidding against that I was pretty keen to make sure that he didn't go there."

Shreyas Iyer showcased his captaincy skills by leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in the 2024 season. He was recently appointed PBKS skipper for the upcoming 2025 IPL season.

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"We budgeted a certain amount for him, and he went a lot above" - Ricky Ponting on Shreyas Iyer

Ricky Ponting acknowledged veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal going for a lot more than what PBKS had originally budgeted for before the IPL 2025 auction. The franchise acquired Chahal for ₹18 crores after he was released by the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

PBKS also used their Right-To-Match (RTM) option to bring back left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh for ₹18 crores.

"Arshdeep went first, which was one of our players from last year. We had a chance to retain on 18 cr, he went for 18 cr so we locked him in. Next Shreyas was second. Then Yuzi Chahal, the leg-spinner. You talk about people and characters, he was a non-negotiable for me as well. We budgeted a certain amount for him and he went a lot above," said Ponting.

PBKS have endured a dismal past few seasons in the IPL, having last qualified for the playoffs way back in 2014. Overall, they have finished in the top four only twice in 17 seasons, leaving them desperate for a turnaround under a new coach and captain in Ponting and Iyer.