The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially appointed Shreyas Iyer as the new captain of the Indian T20I team, replacing Suryakumar Yadav. The leadership change comes as selectors build a long-term squad aimed at future global tournaments.

Despite leading India to a T20 World Cup title earlier this year, Suryakumar's recent lean patches in both international fixtures and the IPL 2026 prompted the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to transition into a fresh era.

Shreyas takes over the reins, having proven his leadership mettle in the IPL, including a title win for KKR in 2024 and runners-up finish for DC and PBKS in 2020 and 2025 respectively.

Speaking to TOI, PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting strongly endorsed the BCCI selectors' decision to name Shreyas Iyer as India’s new T20I skipper, calling it a "great recognition" for the hard work he has put in over a long period of time.

“It's great recognition of what he's done over the last three or four years really. I mean, you wind the clock back three years ago of IPL cricket. He obviously captained KKR to a title there. You know, captained us, Punjab, into the final last year and did a terrific job captaining our team again this year, albeit not making it through to the qualifiers. But the thing that stands out most for me about him is how he's conducted himself and how he's handled himself over the last three or four years. Like there's, I'm sure there's probably been times when he's felt that he probably should have been picked in a few more Indian teams that he has, but he's always just got back to work. He's put his head down and he's worked really hard and he's become a much better player now than I think he was four or five years ago,” Ponting said.

“I've been the one endorsing him for the role and telling the Indian selectors that if they give him a chance, I don't think they'll be disappointed. As I said, it's a great achievement. It's terrific recognition for the hard work he has put in over a long period of time, and I'm sure he'll do a great job as captain of India,” he added.

Ponting believes Iyer has become a much more mature and well-rounded player and leader. “And he's certainly a better captain now, a better leader, and probably a more mature and more well-rounded person now. So yeah, I think it's great recognition. I think he'll do a terrific job."

"And when you think of some of the other candidates, I mean, it's full credit to him that he's the captain now because there's a lot of other great players in India. We know that there's a lot of great players in that current Indian team. And that team has had great success as well over the last few years. So for them to name him as captain, I think it's great recognition and great reward,” the PBKS coach stated.

The former Australia captain hailed Shreyas Iyer as a "very self-motivated person" who does not require constant motivational speeches even during challenging professional phases, such as being left out of the national T20I side.

“I don't have to have too many motivational chats with him. He's a very self-motivated person. He wants to be the best player and the best leader that he can be. That's if he's playing for Mumbai, if he's playing for Punjab Kings, if he's playing for India. He just wants to be the best version of himself that he can be. So, it's no secret,” he said.

Punjab Kings broke the bank to secure the services of Shreyas Iyer for a staggering sum of Rs 26.75 crore during the IPL 2025 mega-auction.

Explaining the decision to “go hard” for Iyer at the auction, Ponting said, "I've said it for the last couple of years. And it's the reason, you know, when I took over as coach of Punjab, the reason that I went so hard for Shreyas Iyer in the auction is because I wanted to work with him again. And I knew he was the best person in the auction that was going to take our franchise forward."

"So I've got a long history with him. We've had some great times together. You know, we talk a lot about his batting as well, not just his captaincy, but we talk a lot about his batting and making sure that we're getting his batting right and he's making plenty of runs.”

“And he's done that, you know, the last couple of years. We've been back together again at the Punjab Kings. He's done that really well,” he remarked.

Ponting said he would soon extend a congratulatory message to Iyer. “So, yeah, I'm absolutely thrilled for him. Now that it's official, I'll actually give him a call and have a chat with him and congratulate him and make sure that he makes the most of it and understands the enormity of the role that he's been given,” the coach said.

Ponting backed Iyer to replicate the kind of success he achieved as PBKS captain, stressing that latter has earned the complete trust and respect of his teammates.

“Yeah, no doubt. I think he'll have great respect from all of his teammates. And that's a big part of it. And I think he's earned that over the last couple of years. With everything not going exactly the way that he would have wanted to, he's worked his way not only back into the (Indian) team, but back into the team and as the captain.

“So I think, look, he's in a terrific place to be captain of India right now because he's on top of his own game. And as I said, he's at that age now as well where he just understands himself and understands what leadership is all about. And his personal form has also been great, I believe. He made 600 (604 runs in 17 matches at 50.33) last year. And this year, again, around 500 runs (498 runs in 14 matches at 55.33). So he's been batting pretty well as well,” he said.

Ricky Ponting described Shreyas Iyer as a big-match player, saying that he excels when the stakes are high.

“He's someone that likes the big moments, the big games. You even think back to whenever we've (PBKS) been in a run chase, it's generally been him that's been standing tall at the end and soaking up the pressure and getting us across the line,” he said.

Ponting believes Iyer's ability to deliver in crunch moments for Punjab Kings may have convinced the national selectors to hand him the T20I captaincy.

“I think that's probably one of the big things that the Indian selectors have looked at, just how he's handled himself under pressure. Because it's, you know, when you're captain of India, it's a high-pressure job. And I think, you know, more often than not, Shreyas has always found a way to play well in those big pressure moments. So I think as a player, he'll be fine,” he said.