Shreyas Iyer became the first captain in IPL history to lead three different franchises to a playoff qualification.
Shreyas Iyer set a new captaincy benchmark on Sunday after Punjab Kings qualified for the playoffs in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With Punjab ending the long-standing drought of making the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, Iyer became the only-ever captain in the history of the tournament to lead three different franchises to a playoff qualification.
Two of the instances came in successive seasons. Iyer had missed IPL 2023 owing to a back injury. But he came back a year later to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders, who had finished seventh in both of their previous two seasons, to a title win. However, Kolkata released Iyer ahead of the mega auction last October, only for Punjab Kings to sign him for a whopping price of INR 26.75 crore. And Iyer repaid the faith by handing PBKS what they had long yearned for.
Amid an impressive show from Punjab under the captaincy of Iyer, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar exposed the unfair treatment the 30-year-old was subject to after KKR’s title last year. He criticised the entire narrative around the impact Gautam Gambhir had on the side after joining as the mentor at the start of the season.
“He didn’t get the credit for the IPL victory last season. All the plaudits were given to someone else. It’s the captain who plays a major role in what’s happening in the middle and not someone sitting in the dugout. See, this year he’s getting fair credit. No one is giving all the credit to Ricky Ponting,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
A season to remember for Iyer
The India star is currently amid a great season, even on the national front. Iyer headed into the IPL on the back of a fabulous show in the Champions Trophy, where he was the leading run-getter for India and the second-highest overall, scoring 405 runs in 11 innings at 50.62, comprising four fifties. The successful outing with the bat in Dubai also saw him win the ICC Men’s Player of the Month Award for March.
Iyer continued his batting form, smashing 435 runs in 12 matches in the IPL, at a strike rate of 174.70, with four fifties. He also led Punjab to their first playoff qualification since 2014, the only time they reached an IPL final. PBKS, who beat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs in Jaipur on Sunday, secured the berth after Gujarat Titans got the better of the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
