Punjab coach urges players to keep focus on IPL playoffs

Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting was delighted that his side had qualified for the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs for the first time in 11 years but said he had told his players not to lose focus as they “haven’t achieved anything yet”.

Punjab registered their best performance in 2014 when they finished runners-up to Kolkata Knight Riders, but failed to make the playoffs in the subsequent 10 seasons.

They have looked formidable under Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer this season, however, securing a top-two finish after nine wins in 14 matches.

“It’s obvious this is a really talented team and they are all on the same page and heading in the same direction,” Ponting told the host broadcasters after Punjab beat Mumbai Indians in their final regular season match on Monday.

“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.

“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 10 weeks, but we’ve got another week to go yet.”

Iyer, who captained Kolkata to the title in 2024 before moving to Punjab, attributed their excellent season to a happy dressing room.

“I feel we need to maintain that relationship throughout, irrespective of what the situation is,” Iyer said.

“When you are down in the dumps, it is easy to backstab each other and talk badly about each other. I feel the dressing room has been top notch right from game one, and that has been working tremendously for us.”

Reuters