Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings' master plan ready for IPL, coach Ponting fills the team with enthusiasm

New Delhi. Head coach Ricky Ponting has advised the Punjab Kings players to be physically, technically and mentally prepared and also take confidence from last year's excellent performance. Punjab Kings reached the IPL final last year after ten years, but lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final, due to which the team's dream of becoming IPL champion remained unfulfilled. Continuing the brilliant performance shown by the team under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, Punjab Kings can become one of the strongest teams of IPL this year.

In a statement issued by the franchise, Ponting said, 'This is training, this is preparation. It is a matter of preparing ourselves physically, technically and mentally for the first match to be held on the 31st. Punjab Kings will face Gujarat Titans in their first match on March 31 in Mullanpur. Ponting said, 'I want you to look back and think what you contributed to the team last year and that is what makes us a good team.'

The Australian coach told his players that it is important to stick to the team's plan, and there is no need to be disappointed even if there is failure. He said, 'We all make mistakes, it's okay. During this time, I too will make mistakes, you all will also make mistakes, drop catches, play bad shots, bowl bad overs. Ponting said, 'But as long as you stick to your strategy, if you make a mistake, it is not a mistake in my view. This happens in sports, it is part of the game.

2025 was great
Leaving aside the final, IPL 2025 was great for Punjab Kings. The team had achieved 19 points in the league stage of last season on the basis of its strong batting. The batsmen had scored a lot of runs on the field. Captain Shreyas Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 innings at an average of 50.33. He was the most reliable batsman of the team. Prabhsimran Singh breathed life into the opening by scoring 549 runs in 17 innings. The second opener Priyansh Arya also impressed everyone with his batting by scoring 475 runs. Nehal Wadhera (369 runs) and Shashank Singh (289 runs) strengthened the team in the middle order. At the same time, Arshdeep Singh did wonders in bowling and took 21 wickets in 17 matches. Punjab Kings will expect similar performance from the players this time too.