Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, made a startling revelation after Shreyas Iyer was appointed as India’s new T20I captain. The Punjab Kings coach stated that he had been endorsing Shreyas’ name as the captain to the Indian selectors for quite some time now, and it feels good to see the recognition finally coming through for the 31-year-old. On Saturday, Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, confirmed Shreyas as Suryakumar Yadav’s successor, adding that the Mumbai batter totally deserved the latest honour.
Shreyas has broken down the door in terms of his own performance. The IPL 2024 saw him winning the title with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as the skipper, and he backed it up by taking Punjab Kings to the final in the very next season. He scored 604 runs in his first season with PBKS and 498 runs in IPL 2026, including a century.
His sensational run coincided with Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form, and a below-par IPL 2026 resulted in the T20 World Cup-winning captain being shown the door. Ponting believes that Shreyas will do a phenomenal job as the captain of the Men in Blue.
“I’ve been the one endorsing him for the role and telling the Indian selectors that if they give him a chance, I don’t think they’ll be disappointed. As I said, it’s a great achievement. It’s terrific recognition for the hard work he has put in over a long period of time, and I’m sure he’ll do a great job as captain of India,” Ponting told The Times of India.
“And he’s certainly a better captain now, a better leader, and probably a more mature and more well-rounded person now. So yeah, I think it’s great recognition. I think he’ll do a terrific job. And when you think of some of the other candidates, I mean, it’s full credit to him that he’s the captain now because there are a lot of other great players in India. We know there are many great players in the current Indian team. And that team has had great success over the last few years as well. So for them to name him as captain, I think it’s great recognition and great reward,” he added.
‘Will call him’
The 2003 and 2007 World Cup-winning captain also said he will have a chat with Shreyas and call him soon to congratulate him on his latest accomplishment. Shreyas’ first assignment as the captain would be the T20I series against Ireland and England. He will also lead in the Asian Games 2026 as well.
“So, yeah, I’m absolutely thrilled for him. Now that it’s official, I’ll actually give him a call and have a chat with him and congratulate him and make sure that he makes the most of it and understands the enormity of the role that he’s been given,” Ponting said.
“I think that’s probably one of the big things that the Indian selectors have looked at, just how he’s handled himself under pressure. Because it’s, you know, when you’re captain of India, it’s a high-pressure job. And I think, you know, more often than not, Shreyas has always found a way to play well in those big pressure moments. So I think as a player, he’ll be fine,” he added.
Shreyas and Ponting’s association goes a long way and the latter has been fond of the India middle-order batter since the Delhi Capitals days. Shreyas had also taken Delhi to their one and only IPL final in 2020 as well.