IPL 2026: Shashank Singh underlines Ricky Ponting's importance for Punjab Kings, says 'he's a very key member'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "IPL 2026: Shashank Singh underlines Ricky Ponting's importance for Punjab Kings, says 'he's a very key member'")
IPL 2026: Shashank Singh underlines Ricky Ponting's importance for Punjab Kings, says 'he's a very key member' Photograph: (Punjab Kings)
One of the standout performers of the IPL 2025 was batter Shashank Singh, who made a name for himself with explosive batting and match-winning knocks. While PBKS may have missed out on the title, his performances did not go unnoticed and he has been slowly making a name for himself.
The Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season will kick off on Saturday (Mar 28) as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the curtain-raiser clash. While the eyes will be on the champions on Saturday, it won’t be until Tuesday when IPL 2025 runners-up Punjab Kings (PBKS) take the field. They will take on the Gujarat Titans in Chandigarh and will try to start on a winning note, having seen a blend of success stories in IPL 2025.
Shashank opens up on Ricky Ponting
One of the standout performers of the IPL 2025 was batter Shashank Singh, who made a name for himself with explosive batting and match-winning knocks. While PBKS may have missed out on the title, his performances did not go unnoticed and he has been slowly making a name for himself. He answered WION’s Aditya Pimpale on Friday ahead of the season-opener and spoke on the role of Ricky Ponting and how he has helped transform PBKS.
“His role is very important. He's a very key member of Punjab Kings, the way he handles everyone. And when I talk about everyone, I'm talking about the 25 players we have, plus the support staff. Because obviously, in a tournament like IPL, it's very important to have a good team environment. And obviously, we all know that,” Shashank said while answering WION’s Aditya Pimpale in Jio Star Press Room.
“Most likely, 15, 18 guys only play in the 14 matches, or whatever, 17 matches. So, it depends on how he treats the rest of the 7 guys as well. Because, see, end of the day, skill-wise, almost every team is equal.
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“It's… it comes to that, how's the team environment? So Ricky sir made sure that the team environment is really good. Even this year, as well, in the first meeting only, he made sure that we would leverage everyone's performances. And everyone is equal. Shreyas is equal to the newest player, like Vishal Lashar, he's someone from UP,” added Shashank.
Punjab Kings will face Gujarat Titans on Tuesday (Mar 31) as they target a positive start with star names like Shashank, Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Arshdeep Singh and others.
