‘Will enjoy facing Virat Kohli, Abhishek-Travis tough to bowl to’:PBKS star Marco Jansen opens up on Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy

There aren’t many adjectives that are left in the cricket dictionary that have not been used to describe Virat Kohli and the greatness that he has achieved in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The owner of a plethora of IPL records, Kohli is someone who many bowlers look forward to facing and Marco Jansen is one of them. The South African pacer has been an integral part of the Punjab Kings outfit for the past two years and has had a good hand in the team getting off to an unbeaten start in IPL 2026. In six matches, Jansen has taken five wickets and one of the highlights of his performance this season was his sensational one-handed catch near the boundary in a match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Jansen, in a media interaction involving Bhaskar English, spoke about looking forward to facing Kohli and also shared his thoughts on Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy. ‘Enjoy going up against Virat Kohli; Abhishek, Travis tough to bowl at’ Jansen shared that he will ‘enjoy’ going up against Kohli, who remains one of the biggest names in the IPL despite not being an active T20I cricketer. And interestingly, Kohli has upped his T20 game in the last three seasons, having strike rates in excess of 150 on two occasions in the last three seasons (including 2026, where his strike rate stands at 157.32 after six matches). “To be honest, I don’t look forward to bowling to any batter in T20 cricket (jokes), but I think probably someone I’ll probably enjoy going against is Virat Kohli,” the 25-year-old said. Jansen has dismissed Kohli once in IPL, with that instance being in 2022 when he got the RCB great out for a golden duck. When asked as to who he found the toughest to bowl to, Jansen’s answer wasn’t surprising at all. “The most difficult batter was probably Abhishek (Sharma) and Travis (Head). It’s very, very tough to bowl against those two in the powerplay,” the pacer added, with the Sunrisers Hyderabad opening pair clearly making their presence felt on the field and in the minds of bowlers. ‘Shreyas Iyer is always welcoming, never feels like a dictatorship’ Shreyas Iyer has been among the best captains in the IPL in recent times. While names like Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, who both have won five IPL titles each as captain, might be incredibly tough to match or better, Shreyas is slowly but steadily carving his own legacy as a captain. Iyer has so far captained in 93 IPL matches, winning 53 and registering a win percentage of 56.98%. And on expected lines, Jansen was effusive in praise for his Punjab Kings skipper. Jansen said, “Shreyas as a captain is definitely up there, if not on top. He’s a pleasure to work with.” “He knows what he wants from the players. He motivates us and he drives us to play our best. He’s very goal-driven. He’s very headstrong. He’s very driven. And 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. He’s always welcoming. It’s never a case of it feels like a dictatorship. He makes everyone feel valued and welcomed,” he added. ‘People also appreciate and value good bowling’ The discussion around T20 cricket heavily favouring batters in the modern-day era might continue for years to come. But when it comes to the Punjab Kings in IPL 2026, both the batters and bowlers have stepped up and made their presence felt, leading the team to go unbeaten in their first six matches this season, a feat not achieved by another IPL team. While it has been PBKS’ batting that has taken the limelight, the bowlers have quietly gone about their job and delivered when the situation required. “People want to come out and watch the ball fly everywhere. People hit 110-meter sixes and stuff like that, which is understandable. That’s what makes the game attractive to the viewers. We as players, we understand that,” Jansen said. “But at the same time, people also value and they also appreciate good bowling. For us as a unit, I think we know exactly what each and every bowler can do and what he does best. Everyone has a different way of going about bowling in different situations. And I think what we’ve done well, what we’ve done really well, is that it’s not a case of one way suits all,” the left-arm pacer added. Boundary catches are haunting for batters, says Jansen IPL 2026 has witnessed several jaw-dropping boundary catches. Shreyas Iyer plucked out an absolute stunner against the Mumbai Indians. Phil Salt grabbed a fascinating one-handed diving catch near the boundary and Jansen himself pulled off a sensational grab while fielding near the boundary. While speaking on these catches, Jansen shared his thoughts. “When it comes to fielding, it (boundary catches) definitely changes the game because there’s catches being taken where 20-30 years back, you wouldn’t even think of people pulling off. It makes it nice as a bowler to know you have guys like that on the fence but also as a batter, it haunts you sometimes because you hit a ball sometimes and you think it’s just over the line and then Shreyas plucks out a catch like that.” ‘Always wanted to be rugby players’ Jansen, for the unversed, has a twin brother named Duan. And in 2023, the Jansen brothers became the first twins to feature in the IPL after Duan featured for the Mumbai Indians in a match. But the Punjab Kings star shared that he and his brother had wanted to take up rugby before switching over to cricket. “To be honest, when I was 17 my brother and myself always wanted to play rugby. Rugby is our main sport in South Africa. So we always wanted to be rugby players,” Jansen said. “And then by the age of 16, I think, we decided to leave rugby and pursue cricket. But I remember, particularly when I was 17, there was never a specific moment or somewhere where I thought to myself that I’m going to make it in cricket. I never thought, I didn’t even think it was possible,” he said.