We haven’t achieved anything yet: PBKS head coach Ponting

Punjab Kings have been on a roll this IPL season but head coach Ricky Ponting feels the side has not achieved anything yet, declaring that a play-off qualification in more than a decade is merely a job half done at this point.

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Punjab Kings convincingly thrashed Mumbai Indians by seven wickets to ensure a top two finish in the play-offs and two chances to enter the final of the cash-rich league.

“I think it’s pretty obvious to see that this is a really talented team that are all on the same page and heading in the same direction,” Ponting told JioHotstar in an interview.

“I mean yeah, it’s a great achievement till now but really, if you look back, we haven’t achieved anything yet. That’s the one thing I’ve been saying to the players since the moment we qualified,” Ponting said.

“The vision for me was always to finish in the top two, and we’ve got there now. It’s a really happy group and we’ve enjoyed our time in each other’s company for the last ten weeks, but we’ve got another week to go yet,” added the former Australian skipper.

Ponting was effusive in his praise for skipper Shreyas Iyer. The last time that the Ponting-Iyer duo were coach and captain, it was for the Delhi Capitals and had steered the franchise into its maiden final during the UAE leg in COVID times.

“I was pretty keen to work with him (Iyer) again. It was pretty obvious that how much money I was willing to spend on him at the auction,” Ponting said.

“We had a great working relationship in Delhi, we made a final in Delhi under his captaincy.” Ponting feels players like Iyer make the team environment great.

“I’ve known him as a person and as a player for a long time. He’s a quality person and when you’ve got quality people around your team, when you’re trying to make a difference and you’re trying to change culture, that’s what you need,” he said.

“If you spoke to the players individually, I think every single one of them would give Shreyas a great rap because he has spent a lot of time with them.”

“He’s pumped them up, he’s given them a pat on the back when they needed it, and he’s given them a kick in the pants when they’ve needed it as well, which is a sign of a really good and strong leader.”