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Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting Photograph: (x)
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was delighted to see Shreyas Iyer make a strong return to the ODI side on Thursday. The 30-year-old who was sidelined for the last six months owing to poor form, scored 59 runs off just 36 balls with nine boundaries and two sixes. Iyer reached his half-century off just 30 balls and revealed that he wasn’t in the scheme of things but got a chance to play due to Virat Kohli’s injury.
Ponting and Iyer are set to link up during the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The 30-year-old will lead Punjab Kings with Ponting helming the affairs as the coach of the team. Both Ponting and Iyer have previously worked together for Delhi Capitals and helped them reach their only IPL finals in 2020.
Speaking on the ICC review show, Ponting said “I've been a little bit surprised that he's been out of India's side the last couple of years. He had a terrific World Cup back in India where he played beautifully in the middle-order and I actually felt then that he'd almost cemented that spot and made that his own.”
Former Aussie skipper lauds Iyer’s stunning return to Team India
Shreyas Iyer had a poor time with the bat in 2024 and failed to score runs during the ODI series in Sri Lanka. The 30-year-old then went back to domestic cricket and found his form during the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This earned, Iyer a recall to the Indian side for the three-match ODI series vs England and also the Champions Trophy team.
Ponting also added “Then he had those couple of injuries, obviously injured his back and went out of the side, but his domestic season this year has been brilliant. It sort of coincided with what he's done since around IPL auction time going forward in domestic cricket, he has been pretty much outstanding,"
The former Aussie skipper while lauding Iyer ended by saying “He's got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world. On those wickets - the slower, lower wickets - he's dynamic on those. We know how good a hitter of spin bowling he is and teams tend not to bowl a lot of spin at India, but at some stage, it's going to come. If Shreyas is out in the middle, then he's as good as anyone. So I'm delighted to see him back in their team.”