“Only he could have pulled that off" - PBKS CEO showers praise on Ricky Ponting for pep talk amidst IPL 2025 suspension

Punjab Kings' (PBKS) CEO Satish Menon was full of praise for former Australian batting stalwart Ricky Ponting, who delivered a pep talk to his team's foreign players to stay back. Menon stated that Ponting could have been the only person to have done it.

On Thursday, May 8, the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals at the HPCA Stadium was halted due to a significant technical failure. Players, support staff, and crowd were escorted safely. Following that, BCCI suspended the league on May 9, with a revised schedule and a restart of the tournament imminent.

In a dialogue with Firstpost, Satish Menon stated that Ponting chose to stay back in Delhi. The Australian legend also spoke to the overseas players and asked them to stay back.

"It shows Ponting's character. Only he could have pulled that off. Not only he voluntarily decided to stay back, he gave a motivational talk to the foreign players who had left for their respective destinations but now will be joining the team at the earliest," Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon told PTI.

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Punjab Kings are currently fourth in the points table in IPL 2025, amidst league suspension

2025 IPL - Punjab Kings v Lucknow Super Giants - Source: Getty

Punjab Kings have had an impressive tournament so far. The 2014 losing finalists have played 11 games in the league, registering seven wins, three losses, and one game which ended in a no result due to rain.

So far in the tournament, openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya have been stealing the show with the bat in hand. They have scored 487 runs and 417 runs respectively. With the ball, Arshdeep Singh has scalped 16 wickets and leads their wicket-taking charts. Led by Shreyas Iyer, Punjab will be aiming to make it to the knockouts for the first time since 2014.