Punjab Kings, led by Shreyas Iyerhave qualified for the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs for the first time since 2011. The franchise will take on either Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) or Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on May 29 at their home venue in Mullanpur. Shashank Singhwho was retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction, attributed the team’s success to the culture created by Shreyas and head coach Ricky Ponting within the dressing room.
Punjab Kings sealed a spot in the top two after defeating Mumbai Indians by seven wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday. Josh Inglis and Priyansh Arya brought out their best to help PBKS chase down a 180+ total with seven wickets in hand and nine balls to spare.
While speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, Shashank Singh said that Iyer and Ponting treat every member of the Punjab Kings’ contingent with the same respect.
He then narrated an incident in which Shreyas and Ponting set the ball rolling on Day 1 itself, saying they would treat Yuzvendra Chahal, who is arguably one of the senior members of the squad, and the team bus driver the same way.
“Day 1, Ricky Ponting and Shreyas both told us. Like, they will treat Yuzvendra Chahal, maybe the most senior player, and our bus driver the same. I mean, this is something and they have maintained this, said Shashank.
“They have shown the same respect to Yuzvendra Chahal and to our bus driver, which says a lot about the team,” he added.
Shashank also spoke about how Ricky Ponting has been instrumental in changing the team culture and instilling self-belief in all the members of the Punjab Kings squad.
“He has changed the team culture. He has changed our mindset. He has changed our beliefs. So, all those things, the credit has to be to him. Because, obviously, he is the one who changed our perspective towards the game. Culture, what I said. Caring about each other. Respecting each other. I mean, it’s very easy to say all these things,” said Shashank.
“Obviously, you need to do this, you need to do that. But again, building it is a different thing. So, he made sure that he built the culture within the dressing,” he added.
Speaking of Chahal, the spinner has missed PBKS’ last two league stage matches against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians owing to a finger injury. However, he is expected to recover in time for Qualifier 1.
‘Playing under Shreyas best thing to happen to me’
Shreyas Iyer is the first captain in the history of the IPL to lead three different teams in the playoffs. He first led Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020, then he won the tournament with KKR in 2024 and now he has helped Punjab Kings qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Shashank Singh, who has scored 284 runs for the franchise in IPL 2025 at a strike rate of 149.47, heaped praise on Shreyas, saying playing under the latter’s leadership is one of the best things that ever happened to him.
“Shreyas is a very dear friend. I have known him for the past 10-15 years. But playing under him, he being the captain, it was the best thing that has happened to me, to be very honest. The way he gives freedom to everyone, not only me but to everyone in the team,” said Shashank.
“And when I say everyone, it’s the 25 of them, plus the support staff, plus the people who are in the content team, media team, logistics, everyone. The way he gives them the freedom is something very appreciable about him. He has developed a culture within the side. Obviously, we love each other and care for each other. That was the main motto of Ricky sir and Shreyas on day one when we had the meeting: We need to maintain a culture. We need to care for each other. And obviously, the results will take care of themselves,” he stated further.
