Punjab Kings opener Prabhsimran Singh is bullish about his team’s chances of making the play-offs for the first time since 2014 as it is playing “different” cricket in the Shreyas Iyer-Ricky Ponting era. Both captain Iyer and head coach Ponting are in the middle of their first season with Punjab Kings but Prabhsimran has been around since 2019. He has worked with multiple captains and coaches in his long stint at Punjab Kings but feels the Iyer-Ponting bring a breath of fresh air. “It’s been seven years for me with Punjab Kings. So obviously, they have backed me a lot. And you can say that this year, we are playing very different cricket. And I feel that we are dominating most of the time,” he said in the Star Sports Press Room.

“Unfortunately, it rained in the last match (against KKR). But the chances of qualification are still very high. And obviously, if we qualify, then we will look towards the trophy. The team has trusted me all these years, now it’s my turn to pay them back.” Punjab Kings have batted with flair this season and even won a low-scoring against KKR at home, successfully defending 112.

“Our coach is very positive and even the captain too. He backs you fully. You don’t have to think about what will happen if that happens. Iyer too takes decisions with zero doubt in his mind and accepts it irrespective of the outcome,” said Prabhsimran.

Prabhsimran was one of the two players retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction, other being Shashank Singh. He established himself at the top of the order over the past couple of seasons after warming the bench during initial years.

He recalled that it was the sage advice from the great Sachin Tendulkar that pushed him to give his best despite not featuring in the playing eleven.

“Sachin sir said, ‘I didn’t sit outside much. But I would still like to tell you that you think that if you have come this far, then how much can you learn from here? Because there will be many more who would just be happy being where I am’.

“So when he put this thing in my mind, I used to think that if it doesn’t happen, then it will happen in the next one,” said the 24-year-old opener.