Over 19 IPL seasons, Punjab Kings have had 17 captains, but Ness Wadia appears to hold a special regard for the current one. "I'm sure Shreyas Iyer will make all of us proud," the franchise co-owner tells Cricbuzz in an interview, reflecting on the qualities of India's new T20I captain and on a season in which Punjab Kings' campaign dramatically declined after looking virtually unstoppable.

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Your captain is now India's captain.

I think it's the first time. I'm so proud of him and it's very well deserved. I'm just so happy for his family - his mother, father, sister and all those people who have supported him through the years. I've only had the privilege of knowing him for a year and a half, and I'm so happy that I met him. He's a wonderful person.

This moment is especially important for the people who have been around him for so many years. I'm so happy for them, and congratulations to them as well. I'm sure that Shreyas will lead India with distinction. There's no bigger honour than leading your country, right? I'm sure he'll make India very proud, and make all of us proud as well.

Did you expect it to happen?

Our first meeting was a brief one, at my house for about an hour before the Dharamshala camp last year, ahead of IPL 2025. I'd spoken to him a few times on the phone and things like that, but I'd never actually met him in person. Within 15 minutes I turned around to him and said, 'You know, you're going to be India captain one day.' And I said, 'When you become captain, remember who told you.' He looked at me a little surprised and smiled. He said, 'No, no, no.'

What made you tell him so?

Because he's a really, really good human being and a wonderful person - simple, grounded, stays within himself. And then, when he comes onto the field, he becomes this wonderful leader. He's got a fantastic cricketing brain and has been captaining for so many years. He's a fantastic leader. I love sports and I love sportsmen, and I've met many good people. But it's definitely been an honour to meet him.

What sets him apart from the others?

I don't think one should ever compare leaders with anyone else because every person has their own leadership style, and that works if they're successful leaders. His style is very soft and gentle. He's not pushy. He carries everyone along with him. He listens to his players and understands their strengths. He won't overburden players when they're under pressure. If they make mistakes, he's not going to make a big issue out of it. He's very balanced as a leader and leads from the front in many ways. I mean, if you saw that catch this year against Mumbai Indians. I don't think I've ever seen a better catch because of the angle involved. And remember, that's a very dangerous angle, and to pull that off was just phenomenal. He leads by example.

He was the second-costliest player in IPL history (Rs 26.75 crore), but seemingly did not allow the weight of the price tag to affect his performance.

Absolutely not. I think he knows that he deserves what he gets. I think it gives him the respect that he deserves. The price tag reflects that. He is one of the leading Indian players and was definitely captaincy material, as we knew before the auction. And we know that even more now, having worked with him at Punjab Kings and, of course, now with India. He's a very, very special person, a very, very special player, and a unique leader.

Punjab Kings - and Kings XI Punjab before that - have had so many captains over the years. In fact, the franchise has had the dubious distinction of having too many captains. In that context, where do you place Shreyas Iyer among them?

At the end of the day, I think the franchise could have understood things better and perhaps done things better. Each captain has been a very interesting learning experience for all of us. Just to illustrate, take Glenn Maxwell. When he came to us, he didn't bowl. I remember pushing him and saying, 'Max, you've got to bowl, you've got to bowl.' We pushed him into captaincy, he started bowling, and then he went on to bowl four overs regularly for Australia.

So, these are things that happen as you go along. But one thing I can say is that, unfortunately, it's not only about the captain. It's about the coaching staff, it's about the whole environment. Until last year, until 2025, I think we had continuously finished in the bottom half of the table - ninth, tenth, eighth, seventh, I've lost track. I don't think we were ever better than fifth for many years, from 2015 all the way to 2025. Actually, not since 2014, when we reached the final.

So, we really had to think about bringing in a strong coach, and I think we've done that with Ricky (Ponting). He's experienced, has played in the IPL, is a world-class cricketer without doubt, and a world-class coach as well. Then we wanted a world-class captain, and we wanted an Indian captain. I think that was very important for us. So we managed to do that. And it's amazing what they've achieved - finishing top of the league in the first year and then finishing fifth in the second year.

Now that you've touched upon the season, what do you think went wrong?

I mean, if we look back, people will say, 'Okay, in 2026 you could have done better.' Yeah, of course, we can always do better. But if you compare the results with what they were before 2025, it's a big, big difference. And I think that's because we spent a lot of time - the management, myself, and then obviously in presenting our ideas to the board - understanding what we had done wrong and how we were going to change it. It's not easy and of course, luck plays its part.

In hindsight, the Eden washout proved costly, didn't it?

They were 25 for 2 after 3.4 overs or something like that. Again, that's luck. But I think even after that, we played very well. We did well against Delhi, we chased well. Remember, this is a young team and they're still learning. Sometimes, when you win so many matches, you can get overconfident. And then you forget to go back to basics.

I think one has to approach each game afresh and also understand that one may have weaknesses against certain bowlers or batters. The standard of competition is the highest in the IPL. You're playing against the best players in the world, and they will try to identify weaknesses in your batting, bowling or whatever it may be. I think we failed to adjust and adapt, and unfortunately ended up setting another record for losing so many matches. But listen, it's a young team. They learn, and I think those learnings will make them stronger, better and wiser.

And frankly, I think the expectations were also too high. After last year, everyone was asking whether we would compete, and we did. Then suddenly the whole of India - and the cricketing world - was talking about Punjab Kings, Punjab Kings, Punjab Kings. Maybe that also took us in the wrong direction a little bit. But there are a lot of learnings, and I think we'll come back much stronger.

In the first half, you were virtually unbeatable; in the second, it was totally opposite. As one of the IPL's founding owners, can you tell us objectively what causes such a dramatic decline?

See, our bowling was frankly not up to the mark, okay! And I think our batting was covering up for that. If you're going to win games and finish at the top of the table, you need to tick all the boxes - batting, bowling, fielding - and also stay focused on the basics. The bowling was below par, and that began to unravel when the batting didn't perform as well. The bowling started to unravel, and I think the middle order maybe didn't get enough opportunities earlier and could have done more. Apart from that, we also dropped a few catches. But that happens. I don't think it was really about the catches. I think it was more about the bowling.

There is a lot of debate over Impact Player. Are you for or against it?

I am against the Impact Player rule, yes. Listen, I think it's a good concept, but it removes some of the competitiveness from the game. That's my personal view, my individual view. I don't know what others think, but that's how I see it. There are many arguments in its favour. People point to football, where you can make substitutions and even have more substitutes. But personally, I'm not in favour of it.

But if you're going to have one Impact Player and make the game more exciting and dynamic, then make it two Impact Players. That would make it even more fun, more interesting and more exciting. Then you would see a lot more competition. This one Impact Player, I don't know. It takes away from the game of 11 players and from the competitiveness. And frankly, it doesn't bring enough excitement for me. It's too obvious.

Then make it two Impact Players. If we're playing a team, we won't know which two players, from a pool of four or five, they might use. Then it becomes more interesting. Do you understand what I'm saying? Then the coaches have to think more. The captain has to think more. The coaching staff has to think more. With one Impact Player, you generally have an idea. It's either going to be a batter or a bowler.