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Shreyas Iyer's 'drastic' batting move gets Ponting's approval but PBKS coach refuses credit: 'He's got to make sure...'
Shreyas Iyer is scoring at a much higher strike-rate than his career average in the IPL, and Ricky Ponting credited him for discovering what suits his game.
After many questioned whether Shreyas Iyer was worth the INR 26.75 crore Punjab Kings shelled out for him in the IPL 2025 auction. With 360 runs at a strike-rate of over 180, Iyer has buried his critics for the time being, as he captains Punjab Kings towards a first playoff appearance in 11 years.
The strike-rate in particular is a vast improvement for Iyer, who acted as an accumulator and an anchor for much of his young career in the IPL, with a sub-130 strike rate. This is a very different Iyer, capable of shifting through the gears at ease and dominating bowling with attacking strokeplay.
Ricky Ponting, his head coach at PBKS under whom he also played at Delhi Capitals, explained the technical changes behind Iyer’s new-look ultra-attacking style.
"I've had nothing to do with that. You guys will see how his stance has evolved. He's opened his stance up a little bit, he's getting his right eye around more to the release point of the ball,” explained Ponting in the press conference following PBKS’ win over CSK, in which Iyer scored 72(41) to see the chase home.
"And with his shoulders being open, he's being able to create some more access to the ball when the ball is back in towards his body. So that's stuff that he's all worked out himself,” explained Ponting.
'He's got to make sure that everything is in the right position…'
Iyer’s uber-attacking new style came across in 2023, after he missed the IPL campaign with an injury. The 2023 World Cup was the first demonstration of it, as he displayed more power and a larger array of boundary-hitting shots, particularly against pacers. Iyer has carried that forward into the shortest format as well, while improving what was once seen as a massive weakness in his technique against bouncers and short balls.
Nevertheless, Ponting emphasised the importance of Iyer remaining focused and committed to this technique, which is very visibly different to how he used to play under the Australian legend during their time together in Delhi.
"We're still working on it pretty much every day. There're little things that he needs to do because it is such a drastic move that he's done. He's got to make sure that everything is in the right position and all his movements are syncing up really well,” explained Ponting.
Shreyas has top-scored for Punjab, who are currently third in the table on 13 points. They look to continue their push towards sealing a playoff spot as they move home base to the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, where they will host Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.
