By Karan Agrawal 
The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League kicks off in a few days with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The upcoming edition of the league promises to be bigger and better than the previous 17 editions considering the host of changes that IPL has witnessed this year starting with the mega auction in November last year including the change in personnel in the majority of the franchisees which is evident by the fact that defending champions KKR will be without the services of their title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer who has gone to Punjab something which was hard to comprehend five years ago along with Ricky Ponting who was at the helm for DC since 2018.
Captain’s Corner
The duo would like to script a turnaround for Punjab Kings along with bringing the much-needed stability to the franchisee. Talking to the reporters a few days before beginning their campaign Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer emphasized the camaraderie between him and Ponting. Iyer said that the two-time World Cup-winning captain makes every player feel secure and instills a great amount of confidence in them. In the words of Iyer, “He supports everyone. When I worked with him for the first time in the past, he made me feel like I am a great player and I can easily excel in this format. The confidence he gives a player is of a different level,”
The Goal
When asked about the goals that the side wants to achieve in the upcoming season Punjab Kings skipper said “The goal is to win the trophy, that’s our mindset right now and it’s a step-by-step process, it’s not like you wake up in the morning and do it but the way we’re practicing right now and the way we’re sharing our wavelength and camaraderie with each other, it’s going really well.”
The Praise
The newly appointed Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting praised Shreyas Iyer and said that he is elated by reuniting with the former DC captain. “He’s a great human being. He is an IPL-winning captain. We could not have asked for more. He has only joined the camp a couple of days ago so he is starting to make his mark on the team as a captain and as a leader and that will evolve over the next few days before we get into our first game. But as I said, I could not have been happier.” the former Australian captain was quoted as saying on Tuesday (March 18).
The Squad
Elaborating on the balance of the squad Ponting said “We have had a really good mix of youth and experience. We have really high-quality Indian players and some really high-quality overseas players as well. “I am elated with how the squad has come together. We had our first session here last night which went really well. The boys have trained really well.” Punjab Kings kick off their IPL campaign on March 25 with the match against Gujarat Titans.