Punjab Kings may have left the Narendra Modi stadium with empty hands and moist eyes last June, but just their presence there was vindication of their reset and fresh beliefs, and a good starting point for building towards getting their hands on their maiden trophy.

In a chat with Cricbuzz, PBKS assistant coach Brad Haddin reveals the thinking behind putting their dynamic squad together at the mega auction, the many advantages of having Ricky Ponting in the building, Shreyas Iyer's captaincy, a mid-season moment of truth and what really went down with the Josh Inglis situation.

Brad, first of all, how is it coming back to this group of players who got to the final last year. What have your first impressions been so far...

I think the first thing we have noticed is the excitement. Last year was a really new group. We put a squad together that we knew would be together for some time and the impressive thing we've seen straight away is that they've done a lot of work and our coaching staff deserves a lot of credit.

The camps they've done leading in, we've had some really high quality camps, we've had clear messages on how we wanted the players to present and to put first eyes on the playing group, it's been really refreshing actually. We had a lot of younger guys last year that got their first taste of IPL and they've come back really impressive young men, ready to play, they've got a much clearer understanding on their game, they've had some success obviously with the franchise last year but also in their domestic cricket. They've matured a lot so it was really exciting to see the progress of all the playing group over the last 12 months.

You've been with the team since the 2023 season. What sort of shifted last year in terms of philosophy and mindset because it was the first time Punjab Kings made it to the playoffs and the final since 2014?

I think we were really lucky that Ricky [Ponting] and all the guys had come in together and they had a really clear vision of the style of play that they wanted Punjab Kings to play and I think that was evident for everyone to watch. There was a lot of care from the coach and the captain around the playing group, there was a lot of trust put in the players and then the players responded in a way that when they went out there they performed, they played a style of game that was entertaining and a style of game that can challenge for trophies and that was the most pleasing thing.

But to be able to execute the said style of play, you had to get recruitment right, specially at the start of a three-year cycle. What was the idea between Ponting and you heading into that mega auction before last season?

I think the one thing with recruitment with any team is it takes a lot of time and you recruit obviously on talent and character and you recruit on what could complement your environment and I think we spent a lot of time in the previous season making sure we got the right players in. We needed a strong leader and we got that obviously with [Shreyas] Iyer and Ricky, and they had a clear vision of what style of play that they wanted here at Kings to be successful. And this year it was more about adding not much to the squad because we were so comfortable with what we did last year and the growth we got in everyone and it's just now just adding little pieces to make sure we continue to improve.

Just to follow-up on that - it seemed like you put distinct faith in young Indian talent. You retained Prabhsimran Singh for INR 4 crore and then went hard to get Priyansh Arya (INR 3 crore) and Nehal Wadhera (INR 4.20 crore). At the end of the season, no team had more contribution from their Indian batters than you did. How do you view that?

Well I'll tell you one thing it didn't surprise us. We were very clear in the talent that we got in the auction and we're very measured in the style of play that we wanted and I think that was shown with the way the players played out in the middle. I think our younger players that you mentioned, they had the opportunity to work with Ricky which is always a great opportunity for a young player but I think that one thing that they got most of all is the care he has for every individual and I think that rubbed off in not only the way that they played and performed but how they contributed to the whole group and the whole organisation in everything that we're trying to achieve.

You mentioned about getting the right kind of leadership, to compliment what Ponting brought to the table. At what point in the season did you feel Shreyas Iyer's leadership shone through?

Day one. His leadership just shone through from day one. He's really clear in his message around the playing group. We all see how world-class of a batter he is. He can influence a game on on the way he plays, tactically he's as good a captain as I've seen in the IPL. You only have to look at his record - he's taken three different teams [DC, KKR and PBKS] to three different finals but the one thing I like most about working with Shreyas is his care for his players and that's a big thing. We can talk a lot about the cricket stuff and that's on show, but the care he has from his players from 1 to 20 was the one thing that I think sets him apart with other leaders.

Those guys that come into the squad who don't get the opportunities that some of the others do, they're part of the team's success. You don't go deep into tournaments, you don't turn teams around just from your playing XI. It starts at your top with your owners and your board and your support staff. Off the field, he's making sure everyone is contributing in their role to make our job easy. Ricky and Shreyas have been really clear on that and they both share the same care for everyone in the organisation. Everyone skips into training, everyone's happy to be around. It's a really joyful occasion when the whole group's together and that's how you learn to win tournaments but that's also how you make great teams.

You had a dramatic six-day period in April last year where the team scored 245 in Hyderabad and didn't defend it and then three days later you defended 111. What were the conversations like in the dressing room around that time because it can be up and down so how do you how do you temper how do you manage the temperament at that point when?

Yeah I think it's just about trusting what they're doing. Just making sure that we keep coming back to to what the team's all about. You'll have days like that at Hyderabad where you actually just get beaten by an innings that... you've got to go a long way to find a better innings in this form [Abhishek Sharma's 141* off 55]. And the one thing the leaders have done is that the group stays pretty consistent with their tempo. They understand now what's required to prepare, what's required to win matches. And if they stick to that, keep trusting that, we'll get the results we need.

Ponting and Shreyas were locked in, and a playing style was laid down and adhered to all through. But when a game like the first Qualifierhappens, where the batters are restrained, how do you then motivate them to stick to their guns with more knockout cricket to play. Specially with a bunch of young batters driving the style ahead...

Trust. Just trust that they've done all the work, that they played a really entertaining game throughout the the whole campaign last year. And the reason they did that is that they've done all the work off the field. Their preparation was world class. Now go out and trust them and play the game that we love. Play what's in front of you because you've done all the work that there's no need to second guess any of what you're doing just because the result didn't go your way.

At what point as a coaching staff did you believe that you were going the distance?

I just think if you have a look, the game against KKR where we didn't make many runs at all [111] and there was the belief in the squad that we're here to win this game. They didn't waver in their thoughts so the one thing that they've done really well the whole time is they never think they're out of a game and that's the one thing we're pleased about this group.

What transpired in the Josh Inglis situation. You released him because of his availability but two teams went deep until LSG eventually picked him for 8.60 crore?

I think that was really clear actually. It was clear that he wasn't available for a certain amount of the tournament and we just had to make a decision on what was the best for our squad.

Would he have been one of your retentions if there wasn't a doubt over his availability?

I don't think you can talk [hypothetically]. You just got to talk in fact. And we had all the facts in front of us. And that's how we made the decision. There's no point talking about what ifs. In this level you can only deal on facts and that's what we did.

How data reliant have Punjab Kings been?

I think that's part of the modern game but the other part of that is that data is a tool in your coaching journey. It's a tool you can use to get to get an advantage. Some players use it quite a lot, some just need minimal. But it's on the coaching staff to make sure we're giving the right information that the players can take out and help them perform on the field.

You've just got to understand the individual and make sure you're giving the right information to the right players. Some guys like a lot, some guys like short snippets... other guys like a coffee and talk more about the game. I think that's the beauty of the coaching group here. We've got it all covered. we're all singing off the same sheet. It's just making sure the individual understands and from the staff's point of view we understand what the individual needs.

Do you think season 2 blues could be a thing? SRH went with a very similar batting ideology in 2024 and reached the final but saw in big dip in 2025. Do you as a coaching staff need to be wary of being found out with the playing style?

I think from any tournament, you've got to understand the trends of the game and what you want to do is you want to never stand still. It's important to take some of the good learnings we had from last season and then add on that and that's what we're about. That's what I think you'll see this season.