'Players were crying' - Shashank Singh reveals dressing room atmosphere after IPL 2025 final loss [Exclusive]

In an exclusive conversation with CricTracker, Punjab Kings’ batter Shashank Singh revealed the mood in the dressing room following their heartbreaking six-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

RCB finally broke their 17-season wait for a maiden IPL title. For PBKS, it was their second IPL final defeat. Chasing 191, the Kings lost early wickets, including the wickets of skipper Shreyas Iyer, who was dismissed for just one.

But Shashank kept them alive with an unbeaten 61 off just 30 deliveries, laced with three fours and six sixes. He even hit 22 runs off the last four balls against Josh Hazlewood, but they ultimately fell short. He even revealed the advice that captain Shreyas Iyer and coach Ricky Ponting gave him to boost his confidence.

Excerpts

What advice did captain Shreyas Iyer and coach Ricky Ponting give to you that became a game-changer for your confidence?

Yes, absolutely. When Ricky sir and Shreyas Iyer came this year, it was a very positive environment. It was never a performance-oriented culture. You know what happens in cricket? Obviously, I know it's a performance-oriented game. But when it comes to the dressing room, it is like he did well, so let's see him well. Let's put him on a pedestal. That was not there in the dressing room. Everyone was equal. Whether you're doing good or bad, it was never seen and obviously, when we went to the IPL, my practice matches were not that special. But the way Ricky sir and Shreyas Iyer backed me, they told me, you're our match winner, we're not going to judge you with two IPL matches. It's just that you go and play with your freedom. Don't take so much tension. Like I told you, I wanted to prove myself. I didn't want to prove anyone wrong. I wanted to prove myself that I am meant to dominate at this level. Back-to-back years, I can dominate. It was special initially, but the way Shreyas and Ricky sir backed me, I think it was tremendous. All credit goes to them for the way they backed me.

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How was the dressing room atmosphere after losing the IPL 2025 final? Please explain that moment a bit?

The team that wins, the focus is on that. It should be like that. They won, they're happy. I don't remember what was happening in the other team, what the fans were doing. At a certain point, it takes a lot of time to win. We were in the finals. It was one of the most difficult tournaments in the cricketing world. In the finals, we were so close, and I was playing there. I could have been a match winner. Obviously, I felt bad. I wasn't alone. There were players in the dressing room. They were crying. Our owners were feeling bad. They were very disappointed. I saw their tears. It's different from the media, the fans, the camera. It's a personal loss. You can't just say, we lost. It takes a lot of time. I still remember, we had a match in the state league the next day. I thought it would get better. But I couldn't get out of the final loss. I was talking to my sister. I told her, I'm not able to enjoy. The state league is something where you enjoy playing with your teammates. But in the IPL, we didn't have a bad tournament. It was a good thing that we reached the finals. But that loss, it took a lot of time. I was playing, but I wasn't enjoying. But again, it was a state league. Obviously, there were players who were there to meet me and play with me. Obviously, you have to play as a professional. But that loss, everyone was hurt. I saw their tears. It took some time, but I think we still believe and we know now that next year we'll turn around the tables. We'll make sure that those moments are ours.