New Delhi [India], May 5 (ANI): Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer, who was bought for over Rs 25 crore, has enjoyed a campaign to remember. Iyer has earned praise for his leadership, with PBKS currently sitting second on the points table and looking like a strong contender for the playoffs, as per ESPNcricinfo.

While Rishabh Pant, who was bought for Rs 27 Cr by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has had a tough Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season,

Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu pointed out that Iyer's close rapport with head coach Ricky Ponting has played a key role in his success.

'Shreyas has had this partnership with Ricky Ponting at Delhi (Capitals),' Rayudu said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

'They both know each other very well. That is very, very important. You need to know your coach as a captain because both have to be hand in glove. It's a long tournament. You can't be on different pages or (have) different mindsets. And Shreyas actually likes Ricky Ponting a lot. He is someone who is a little more aggressive in terms of his strategies, I think it's a good match that is made in Punjab at the moment. Shreyas definitely as a batsman has improved quite a lot,' he added.

However, former New Zealand women's cricketer Katey Martin observed that Pant's dual responsibility as a wicketkeeper and captain might be weighing him down. He also noted that Iyer aligns more naturally with Ponting's coaching style--something that may not have been the case with Pant when both were part of the Delhi Capitals setup last season.

'Ponting, going into the auction, he spoke so much about the fact that he wanted to build a team around the captain and he wanted the captain to lead the side,' Martin said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

'With Shreyas Iyer scoring runs as well, he's been able to translate that into the captaincy and the confidence and vice versa. With Pant, who hasn't had that confidence and hasn't been able to score the runs that he would have liked, I think there's added pressure as a wicketkeeper as well,' she added.

'When you're a keeper you have to kind of rely on others around you and (Nicholas) Pooran's probably the next leader. You see him come from the boundary. But when he's in the boundary the majority of the time, it can be a little challenging. So that's the added pressure of keeping and to negate the bowlers from as far back as you can as a wicketkeeper,' she noted. (ANI)