Indian Premier League (IPL) side Punjab Kings' head coach Ricky Ponting has revealed that India batter Shreyas Iyer, pacer Arshdeep Singh and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal were non-negotiable for him. Ponting, who shifted base from Delhi to Punjab this season, managed to get all three players in the IPL mega auction which took place in November 2024.

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"There were three players that I wanted to bring in. One who has been at Punjab Kings for three or four years—Arshdeep Singh. I also wanted to bring in a captain who I have worked with before and who has had a lot of success. So, we went after Shreyas Iyer. I also wanted to bring in Yuzi. So the Indian guys that we have are perfect,” Ponting said in a release shared by Punjab Kings.

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer reveals he wasn't supposed to play 1st ODI in Nagpur

“And then, we had to make a few tweaks as the auction went on to make sure we ended up with a really good squad. I am trying to make things different and rebuild and have the right people around me. But these three were non-negotiables," the former Aussie skipper added.

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Punjab bought Iyer for a whopping INR 23.75 crore ($2.83 million approx) and Chahal for INR 18 crore ($2.2 million approx) - making him the most expensive spinner in IPL history. Arshdeep, meanwhile, was retained ahead of the mega auction for the same price as Chahal.

Iyer shines in first IND vs ENG ODI

Shreyas Iyer, after being included in the playing XI on Thursday (Feb 6) against England at the very last minute, scored a match-winning 59 off 36 balls.

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Iyer came in to bat at number four and added 94 runs with Shubman Gill for the third wicket before being trapped LBW by Jacob Bethell on the last ball of the 16th over.

The partnership, however, laid the groundwork for India's chase after two quick wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Rohit Sharma. Both the openers were back in the hut inside six overs with just 19 runs on the board in the chase of 248.

After Iyer's dismissal, Gill (87) and Axar Patel (52) added 108 runs for the fourth wicket as India reached the target in the 37th over with four wickets in hand.