Excerpts:Q. What kind of leader is Shreyas Iyer, and the reason behind him being an inspirational skipperA. Shreyas, as a captain, is definitely up there, if not on top.

He's a pleasure to work with. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he wants from the players. He motivates and drives us to play our best.

It gives us the space to do what we do well, if that makes sense. It's not a case of it's his way or the highway type of thing, which I think is a very nice feeling as a bowler and a player.He knows what he wants. He knows what he wants to achieve.

He's very goal-driven. He's very headstrong. It's very easy to see when we are in meetings and stuff like that, and in training.

He's very driven. I think from a team's point of view, it's nice to have a captain like that. So it's like you sort of just follow his lead.Punjab Kings' Marco Jansen bowls during the IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, in New Chandigarh, Mullanpur, on Sunday.

He's going to lead the team in a way where it's going to put the team in a position to not just win games, but also, if you're lucky enough, win a trophy as well. It's nice to play under his captaincy. He's up for discussions.

He's always welcoming. It's never a case of it feels like a dictatorship. He makes everyone feel valued and welcomed.IPL 2026: Preity Zinta brings spotlight to ‘real-life heroes’ at Punjab Kings gameAs a player, it's very, very nice to have a captain like that where you feel you can go to the captain, you can express, or you can speak about certain things about the game.

Not just that, but he'll give his advice, or he'll give his two cents about it as well, and then he'll formulate a plan with you to help you get better if need be and to take the team forward and stuff like that, which is nice.Q. With Xavier Bartlett sharing the new ball with Arshdeep Singh, how has it been for you to adapt, especially with batters looking to hit hard at the bowlers?A. I'm used to taking the first or second over, but I also know that I do have the skills to adapt to whatever situation or to adapt to any situation or any particular time in the match to come in and do a job for the team.

Obviously, as a swing bowler or someone who's used to bowling with the new ball, you do have a weapon in your hand as well.So coming in in the third, fourth, or sometimes fifth over is definitely a different approach that I had to take. But it's not a case of me thinking that I can't do a job or I can't take wickets or thinking, okay, cool, there is my weapon taken away. It's nothing like that.

It's actually the opposite because Arshdeep and Xavier swing the ball consistently and more than I do.Shreyas Iyer says PBKS chasing IPL title but staying focused on presentI understand that. At the same time, I also realise and understand that I have different attributes, different skills that I bring to the bowling unit and to the table. It's just from a bowling unit; everyone knows that wherever we bowl, there's a plan, there's a reason.

It's not a case of, in my case, that they don't believe I can't do a good job bowling the first or second over with the new ball.It's a case of how are we going to bowl well with the ball as a unit, if that makes sense. Yuzi (Chahal) is bowling in the middle, Shashank is not bowling in the first few games, and then all of a sudden comes in and takes two in his first over in this season. So I think it's a good place to be.It's a nice place to be at as a bowler and a player and as a bowling unit because we know it doesn't matter where we bowl, or where Shreyas decides to bowl a certain bowler or a particular bowler.

We know there's a reason behind it, and we know that whoever has the ball in his hands at that particular time, whether it's in a power play in the middle or at the death, we fully believe and we trust that that guy will do the best job for the team.Q. You have been sticking to hard lengths more often than not. Do you think that has been one of the reasons for you doing well in both Test