Ricky Ponting gives his take on Shreyas Iyer's Test snub ahead of IPL 2025 final

New Delhi:

Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer led his side to their second IPL final. Taking on Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 of the tournament at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 1, Punjab Kings conceded 203 runs in the first innings of the game against Mumbai.

Furthermore, the run chase for Punjab got off to a horrid start as openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya departed on scores of 6 and 20, respectively. As all seemed lost for the side, it was Shreyas Iyer who propelled his side to the final.

Coming out to bat after the fall of the second wicket, Iyer amassed 87 runs in 41 deliveries and helped his side into their second final. Despite being in stellar form in both T20 and ODI formats, Shreyas Iyer was notably snubbed from India’s Test squad for the upcoming five-Test tour of England.

With many questioning the BCCI’s decision to snub Iyer, Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting took centre stage and opined that Iyer’s Test snub makes Iyer even more hungry to perform for his IPL franchise. “I actually was gutted…but he’s accepted that really well and he’s moved on. He’s 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,” Ponting told the ICC review. 

Furthermore, the former Aussie skipper reflected on how Iyer has done everything in his power to deserve a place in the Indian Test squad and talked about how disappointed he was to not see Iyer’s name in the Test set-up.

“Certain other players that have been picked in that (Test) squad have done it on the back of good first-class cricket and good IPL seasons leading up to that selection and Shreyas has done absolutely everything the same as some of those other players,” Ponting said.