Ponting believes Test snub is inspiring Iyer to perform
The duo get the chance to go one better this year against Royal Challengers Bangalore, with Iyer's match-winning innings of 87* from just 41 deliveries against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday helping the Kings earn their place in the final in what is Ponting's first year as coach of the franchise.
Iyer scored 243 runs from five innings at India's successful Champions Trophy earlier this year and has tallied 603 runs for the Kings from 16 innings at the IPL this year to be sixth overall on the leading run-scorer charts.
"I enjoy playing a bit of a role with him as we work really well together," Ponting said.
"We talk a lot together about the game and tactics and, I think he said last night that he said 'that I leave it to Ricky to look after the tactical stuff and pick the players, and then he hands it over to me and I go and execute it out on the field'.
"And that's the way we've worked, this year and it's been nice to get that sort of working relationship back together again."
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"I know there's a lot of other people out there, pundits out there saying they can't understand why it wasn't Bumrah and why they have gone to Shubman, but I think it's pretty simple. "Bumrah's injuries are holding him back a bit in the last couple of years and you don't want that with a captain. You can't have a captain coming in and missing games here and there, so I think it's I think it's the right decision. "Now that they've made it, it's one they've got to stick with and give him a good crack at it for, for a long period of time. "Even just looking back at the way he's handled this current GT (Gujarat Titans) team through this IPL, I think leadership sits really well with him. "And the important thing for me with leadership as well as if you're a batter and you're a captain, you have to be scoring runs. And Shubman is doing that in IPL and I think the timing is right and I think you'll have a good captain who'll make a lot of Test runs going forward." 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A complaint has been lodged against Indian Premier League (IPL) team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batsman Virat Kohli by a social activist in connection with the Bengaluru stampede, news agency ANI reported on Friday. The report said that a complaint has been submitted at the Cubbon Park Police Station against cricketer Virat Kohli by social activist HM Venkatesh. The police have stated that the complaint will be considered under an already registered case and examined during the course of the ongoing investigation of the stampede incident. Former India captain Kohli had on Wednesday said he was left saddened by the tragic news of the stampede. "At a loss for words. Absolutely gutted," Kohli had written on Instagram, followed by a broken heart emoji. Police in India's tech capital had earlier in the day arrested four people, including an official of a top cricket franchise, in connection with the stampede during the IPL trophy celebration that killed 11 people and injured 47. RCB Indian had earlier pledged one million Indian rupees ($11,654) to each family of the 11 fans who died in the crowd surge outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium — the team's home venue — on Wednesday during celebrations following their maiden IPL title.
