New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting set the tone for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2026 season with a clear message to his players: embrace mistakes, but stay committed to the process. Addressing the squad at the start of their training camp in New Chandigarh’s Mullanpur, Ponting emphasised preparation, clarity of roles, and belief in the team’s approach.
The team began its camp at the New International Cricket Stadium with an intense opening session, as players and support staff regrouped ahead of the new season. Ponting, speaking before practice, expressed his enthusiasm at reuniting with the core group.
“It’s going to be short and sharp from me. It’s so good to be back here, so good to get what I feel is like the band back together again, you know, to see so many familiar faces back in this group again,” he said in a video shared by the franchise, while also welcoming new additions. “We have got a few changes, so Vishal, welcome officially from me, welcome into the group. Ben Dwarshuis, these are the two new players into the group, welcome to the group.”
The former Australian captain underlined that the focus at this stage is purely on preparation rather than immediate results. “From now, the games and the tournament doesn’t start now, as far as I’m concerned. This is training, this is preparation, this is about getting ourselves physically, technically, and mentally right for that first game on the 31st, right?” he added.
Reflecting on the previous season, Ponting urged the players to reconnect with the traits that made them successful as a unit. “I want you to think back and think what you brought to this team last year that made us a good team, right? The one thing I spoke about last year, every single day, was we were a good team from the start until the end, and the one thing that we were doing, we were chasing being a great team.”
He then delivered the central message of his address, encouraging players not to fear errors as long as they remain aligned with their plans. “Mistakes come, we all make mistakes, that’s fine. I’ll make mistakes on the way through this, you’ll all make mistakes, you’ll drop a catch, you’ll play a bad shot, you’ll bowl a bad over, but as long as you’re sticking to what you know and what your game plan is, if you make a mistake doing that, in my eyes it’s not a mistake, it’s just what happens in the game, it’s part of the game.”
Ponting concluded on an upbeat note, urging the squad to enjoy the process and get straight into work. “Enjoy, let’s have fun, let’s hop into the warm-up, we’ll get into the nets as quick as we can, get moving.”
Led by Shreyas Iyer, PBKS head into the new season after finishing runners-up in 2025 and will be aiming to go one better in the 19th edition. The side is set to play 14 league matches and are scheduled to open their campaign against the Gujarat Titans on April 31.
–IANS
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