Ponting surprised with Shreyas not finding a permanent spot in Indian setup

Australian legend Ricky Ponting finds it incredulous that Shreyas Iyer has not been given a permanent slot in India's white-ball side, given his magnificent form and the ability to dominate spinners on slow subcontinental pitches.

Iyer was one of the vital cogs in India's run to the final of the 50-over World Cup in 2023, with the middle-order batter scoring 530 runs to emerge the seventh-highest run-getter in the global event, and he further validated his prowess in the format with a 36-ball 59 against England in the first ODI at Nagpur on Thursday.

In domestic cricket too, the 30-year-old has been in fine fettle this season, scoring two centuries for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. 

"I've been a little bit surprised that he's been out of India's side in the last couple of years. He had a terrific World Cup back in India (2023) where he played beautifully in the middle-order and I actually felt then that he'd almost cemented that spot and made that his own," opined Ponting on ICC Review.

"Then he had those couple of injuries, obviously injured his back and went out of the side, but his domestic season this year has been brilliant.

"It sort of coincided with what he's done since around (IPL) auction time going forward in domestic cricket, he has been pretty much outstanding," said Ponting about the right-hand batter, who guided Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last year after missing the 2023 edition due to a serious back injury.

Ponting feels Iyer will thrive in the Champions Trophy, beginning in Pakistan and Dubai on February 19.

"He's got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world," Ponting said.

"On those wickets -- the slower, lower wickets -- he's 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 it's going to come."  Ponting, who is Punjab Kings coach, bought Iyer for Rs 26.75 crore for the upcoming IPL season, added that he is "delighted" to see the Mumbai man in PBKS as the franchise look to win their first title.

"If Shreyas is out in the middle, then he's as good as anyone. So, I'm delighted to see him back in the team.