New Delhi: ICC Hall of Famer and Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting has said he is “gutted” that Shreyas Iyer has been left out of the Test squad going to England, adding that the middle-order batter and Punjab captain, however, has “moved on” quickly from the disappointment and is now focused on guiding the Punjab Kings to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title win.
Cricket fans were in for a surprise when India announced the 18-player squad for the upcoming five-match England Test tour—Shreyas Iyer was not in the pool. Later, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said he needed to prove himself more in red-ball domestic cricket.
“I actually was gutted … but he has accepted that really well and he has moved on,” Australia’s ex-skipper Ricky Ponting said, in a discussion on The ICC Review, last week.
Ricky Ponting, who worked with Shreyas Iyer during their Delhi Capitals days, said that he thought that Iyer’s strong and consistent form would get him a recall to the Test side—just like some of his contemporaries.
“Shreyas has done absolutely everything the same as some of those other players,” Ricky Ponting noted. “So I was disappointed that he didn’t get picked as I actually felt that he would. I think that probably makes him a little bit hungrier for us when these playoff games come around.”
Shreyas Iyer has been in great form lately.
Iyer scored 480 runs in just 7 innings, averaging 68.57, in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy.
He also played a crucial role in the 2023-24 season, guiding Mumbai to its Ranji Trophy victory, including in the final against Vidarbha where he scored 95 runs in the second innings.
Shreyas Iyer was one of India’s best performers during their run to the finals in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the second top run-scorer at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting got associated with Punjab Kings this year for the first time, and their teamwork has paid off. Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier, earning a place in the final for the first time after 2014.
Ricky Ponting has said that he enjoys his role, and they work well together.
“We talk a lot together about the game and tactics and, I think he said last night ‘that I leave it to Ricky to look after the tactical stuff and pick the players, and then he hands it over to me and I go and execute it out on the field’,” Ponting recalled.
Apart from his leadership, Shreyas Iyer has piled up 603 runs for the Kings from 16 innings at the IPL this year—so far the sixth overall on the leading run-scorer charts.
“He has just got that real hunger in his eyes to do well every time that he plays for us here and wants to win games of cricket and wants to evolve and develop into the best leader and captain that he can be,” Ricky Ponting said.
Punjab Kings will now lock horns with Royal Challengers Bengaluru on 3 June.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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