Ten seasons without making the playoffs, and eighteen seasons and counting without a championship. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) are statistically among the worst teams in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when it comes to “bad” teams.
Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer, two serial winners, have given the Punjab Kings new optimism going into the 2025 Indian Premier League.
Ricky Ponting, who won the IPL with the Mumbai Indians (MI) as a player and coach, turned around the Delhi Capitals (DC), a team that was just as bad, and almost won the championship. Iyer, who was alongside Ponting at DC, is currently a champion after leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to victory in the 2024 Indian Premier League.
Prior to the upcoming season, Ponting made it obvious that the two are here to give PBKS their first-ever championship.
“Winning the IPL is the team’s overarching goal. Ahead of the upcoming season, Ponting stated, “I told the guys on the very first day when I joined the camp in Dharamshala that we were going to create and become the greatest Punjab Kings team that has played.”
That is the path we are on, and it takes time to accomplish. You need to make that.
Ponting went on to discuss how attitude is ultimately what determines “winning.” Ponting’s reputation as a “serial winner” stems from his playing career, during which he guided the Australian team of the early 2000s—possibly the best in Men’s cricket history—to victory after victory.
“Winning truly comes down to attitude. It feels like they’re taking something away from us if the competition shows up to play and tries to defeat us, and I don’t want anyone to take anything away from my team or from myself.
The Kings placed ninth in the 2024 Indian Premier League, eighth in 2023, and sixth in 2022. The last time they advanced to the playoffs was in the 2014 Indian Premier League.
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