Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting wants his players to put their best foot forward in their season opener against Gujarat Titans on March 31. He also urged the team to take inspiration from last year’s campaign.
Led by Shreyas Iyer, PBKS reached the finals in IPL 2025 after a decade, where they lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. PBKS are one of the strong contenders to make it to the knockouts of IPL 2026.
“This is training, this is preparation. This is about getting ourselves physically, technically and mentally right for that first game on the 31st,” Ponting was quoted as saying in a release issued by the franchise.
“I want you to think back and think what you brought to this team last year and that made us a good team,” Ponting also said.
The former Australian captain also urged the players not to get afraid of mistakes as long as they stick to the game plan.
“We all make mistakes. That’s fine. I will make mistakes on the way through this. You will all make mistakes, you’ll drop a catch, you’ll play bad shots, you’ll bowl a bad over,” Ponting said.
“But as long as you are sticking to what you know and what your game plan is, if you make a mistake, doing that in my eyes is not a mistake. It’s just what happens in the game, it’s a part of the game,” he added.
