Shreyas impressed with Ponting's approach

The appointment of Ricky Ponting as Delhi Daredevils' head coach has generated a lot of optimism in the franchise. The players vouch for his positive energy. Though these are early days, the former Australian captain has undoubtedly made a favourable impression.

Shreyas Iyer, who was retained by Daredevils, was impressed by the "winning mindset" of the former World Cup winning captain.  "He (Ponting) has been aggressive, he has got the positive frame of mind. The day he came, he gave a speech to all of us. It was really boosting and we all got goosebumps. And it enhanced the team's morale as well because we have a lot of youngsters in the team and they like freedom. And suddenly he came in and made us feel we have got total freedom and we can go and express ourselves," Iyer told reporters on Monday.

"We don't have to particularly change our technique or skill or how we go about the game. He has got his own way of preparing every youngster. He said we are here to win. It was not about the processes. You know everybody comes and we talk a lot about processes. His frame of mind was naturally about winning."

Asked to compare Ponting with Daredevils' previous head coach, Rahul Dravid, Iyer said: "Both are equally good in their own way because Rahul Dravid is more calm and cool. He likes to be in the process, he likes to nurture the kids. He is more focused on grooming the youngsters. Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, is obviously opposite but they both have the same frame of mind."

Iyer and Shankar have had the experience of donning the national jersey and the former admitted the stint will help them in the Indian Premier League.

"I have played a few games and I have learned a lot. I think I will be able to carry forward the same experience in my T20 games as well. Also an advantage to me is that I played a T20 tournament in Mumbai recently. It gave me an idea on how to build my innings," Iyer said.

The two were looking forward to playing under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. "He (Gambhir) has tremendous experience in the IPL. He is really good in building rapport with youngsters. It will be a great learning experience to play under him," Iyer said.

Vijay Shankar, the batting all-rounder, added: "It's a very good team we have right now. We have played alongside with most of them for a very long time now. It will be interesting for us to do well in the matches until we reach the top."