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Punjab Kings (PBKS) may be going through a tough phase in the ongoing IPL 2026, but Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy is still winning a lot of praise. Amidst Punjab Kings’ recent collapse in the tournament, head coach Ricky Ponting believes that Shreyas Iyer has done enough to become a strong contender for India’s T20I captaincy in the future.
Punjab Kings had started the season brilliantly and looked like one of the strongest teams in IPL 2026. But things went completely wrong in the second half as the team suffered six consecutive defeats, which pushed them close to elimination from the playoff race.
Ricky Ponting calls Shreyas Iyer India’s main T20I captaincy contender
Despite the poor results, the Australian legend Ricky Ponting has remained very impressed with the way Shreyas Iyer has handled the pressure as captain in the ongoing IPL 2025.
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Iyer has already played 100 matches as an IPL captain and is the only captain to take three different teams—Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Punjab Kings—into the final.
Ricky Ponting was quoted as saying by PTI: “I think there are several contenders, but he's (Shreyas Iyer) one of the main contenders as far as I’m concerned. I think we saw at the start of the tournament just how good a T20 player he is and where he’s at, both on and off the field right now.”
Ricky Ponting hails Shreyas Iyer’s transformation both as captain and batter
Also, the PBKS head coach feels Iyer has become a much more mature player and leader over the last few years. Ponting also feels the Indian batter now looks more confident, calm, and fully in control of his game, both as a batter and captain.
Ponting added, “I think he’s a much more mature player than he’s probably ever been in his whole career. I think he’s completely on top of his game now. He’s probably a good example of what I was talking about earlier; it’s really hard to maintain a high level of consistency through 14 games of cricket.
There are going to be times when you have your ups and downs as an individual and as a team. I’m pretty sure he’ll bounce back in this last game that we’ve got. If he stands up and makes a big score, then we've got a good chance of winning the game.”
Ricky Ponting predicts massive future for Shreyas Iyer as India's T20I captain
Since Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy is not safe, the former Australia captain also believes that Iyer will get India’s T20I captaincy very soon because of his excellent IPL 2026 season, and he is confident that the PBKS skipper will do great whenever he gets the job.
Ponting signed off by saying, “On the back of this IPL, I’m sure he’s one name the selectors will talk about, not just to get back into the side, but also with the captaincy next to his name. The thing about Indian cricket is that you don’t just walk back into teams.
You’ve got to put a lot of runs on the board and do it in a certain way. His season so far has been very impressive, and his captaincy has been excellent. I just think he’s in that little sweet spot in his life and career where, if captaincy came his way, then I think he’d make the most of it.”
VIDEO | Former Australia World Cup-winning captain and Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting, if he sees PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer, is in the reckoning for the Indian T20 team as a serious contender to become India's next T20 captain and potentially replace Suryakumar Yadav in… pic.twitter.com/52zofhNQRl
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 20, 2026
