Finch lauds Shreyas Iyer as terrific young leader

New Delhi, May 18: Former Australia skipper Aaron Finch has praised Shreyas Iyer's leadership and performance since moving to Punjab Kings, calling him a terrific young leader for carrying leadership success from one franchise to a completely different setup.

Iyer, the IPL 2024 winning captain for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), was acquired by PBKS in last year’s mega auction for a whopping Rs 26.75 crore. So far, PBKS’ move to break their bank for Iyer has paid off – the right-handed batter has amassed 405 runs in 11 games at an average of 50.63, including hitting four fifties.

"He’s been fantastic – just as he was at KKR. Shreyas is a terrific young leader. Leaving a title-winning side would have hurt, but to carry forward that leadership success into a completely different setup shows his versatility. It’s a new team, a new coach, yet he’s adapted brilliantly. His batting, especially away from home, has been top-notch. Overall, he’s been excellent for the Kings – both as a leader and a player," Finch said on JioHotstar.

As a captain, and having Ricky Ponting in the dugout as their head coach, Iyer has been astute and proactive in his leadership, resulting in PBKS being on 15 points in third place in the points table. The side needs two wins out of their three remaining games to seal a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 IPL.

Iyer and coach Ponting had worked together at Delhi Capitals previously, where they managed to enter the playoffs in the 2019 season, before becoming runners-up in the 2020 edition. Now reunited at the PBKS set-up, the Iyer-Ponting partnership has resurrected the side’s fortunes in such a brilliant fashion that they are now on the verge of entering the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, IPL 2025 resumed after a week-long break with a washout as the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders was abandoned, without a ball being bowled, due to persistent rain.

Both teams were awarded one point each and RCB moved atop the points table with 17 points from 12 games and closer to a confirmed berth in the playoffs, while KKR with 12 points from 13 games have been knocked out of contention.

Former India cricketer and coach Sanjay Bangar offered a balanced analysis of Rajat Patidar’s impact as a captain and a batter this season, saying, "Sometimes it's just about the number of balls you get to face. If the top order is doing well, your chances are limited. Also, being surrounded by top performers means you shouldn’t read too much into three or four failures.

"Rajat has embraced responsibility really well. His captaincy has been spot on. He started the season strong with the bat and continues to impress whenever he’s spent time at the crease. In T20s, you’re bound to miss out a few times – it’s just the nature of the format."