Shreyas Iyer has been magnificent as a captain for Punjab Kings. He is making contributions with the bat while his captaincy has been spot on, barring one or two instances in the Indian Premier League 2025. PBKS bought him for INR 26.75 crore after the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t retain him. He was given the captain’s armband, considering he led KKR to their third title in the previous season and was also Delhi Capitals’ skipper when they made it to the final.

He didn’t take the time to identify his perfect Playing XI along with head coach Ricky Ponting, and now, Punjab are on the verge of making it to the playoffs. The franchise has 15 points from 11 matches and is one of the favourites to go through to the next round. In 11 matches, Iyer has scored 405 runs at an average of 50.62 and a strike rate of 180.80.

Former RCB player Mohammad Kaif lauded Iyer for the way he has led the franchise in the 18th season. “Shreyas Iyer has been superb as a captain. ‘I led KKR to the IPL title, and now I want PBKS to win.’ This is what Iyer must be saying at the moment. He could have scored a hundred in one of the matches, but he allowed Shashank Singh to face all the balls. Iyer hasn’t joined Punjab Kings for personal milestones. His only aim is to win a title,” Kaif said.

“When he was with KKR, he was batting in the lower order, but he is now coming at No.3 for Punjab. He is batting aggressively, and this shows that Iyer means business. He has become confident as a captain and is taking calls. Earlier, he used to look back at the dugout when there was a pressure situation during his time with the Delhi Capitals. He is batting superbly and is captaincy has been top class in this season,” he added.