Ponting surprised with Iyer not finding a permanent spot in India's team

Australian legend Ricky Ponting is surprised with the fact that Shreyas Iyer has not secured a permanent slot in Indias whitball teamShreyas Iyer was one of the important players in Team Indias run in the 50over World Cup in 2023 Batting in the middleorder the righthander garnered 530 runs in the tournament and was ranked as the seventhhighest in the concluded ICC eventIn the first ODI against England Shreyas Iyer played a 36ball knock in which he scored 59 runs In the domestic circuit too the veteran has been phenomenal as he scored two centuries for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare TrophyIve been a little bit surprised that hes been out of Indias side in the last couple of years He had a terrific World Cup back in India 2023 where he played beautifully in the middleorder and I actually felt then that hed almost cemented that spot and made that his own opined Ricky Ponting on ICC ReviewAlso ReadTests Steve Smith goes up the list of active players with the most centuriesThen he had those couple of injuries obviously injured his back and went out of the side but his domestic season this year has been brilliantIt sort of coincided with what hes done since around IPL auction time going forward in domestic cricket he has been pretty much outstanding said Ponting about the righthand batter who guided Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last year after missing the 2023 edition due to a serious back injuryRicky Ponting feels Shreyas Iyer will thrive in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 which will kickstart from February 19Hes got the game that will stand up to the whiteball formats especially in that part of the world Ponting saidOn those wickets the slower lower wickets hes dynamic on those We know how good a hitter of spin bowling he is and teams tend not to bowl a lot of spin at India but at some stage its going to comeRicky Ponting who is playing the role of coach for Punjab Kings bought the services of Shreyas Iyer for a whopping Rs 2675 crore He is delighted to see the Mumbai man in PBKS as the franchise looks to win their first titleIf Shreyas is out in the middle then hes as good as anyone So Im delighted to see him back in the teamWith PTI Inputs