Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has taken his team to their second IPL final. They faced off against the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 1. The Kings struggled early, giving up 203 runs to Mumbai. The chase didn’t start well either, with openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya scoring just 6 and 20 runs before getting out. Just when it looked like they were out of it, Iyer stepped up big time, scoring 87 runs off 41 balls, which secured their place in the final.
Despite his great form in T20 and ODI cricket, Iyer was left out of India’s Test squad for the upcoming five-match tour in England. Many people are questioning the BCCI’s decision to exclude him. Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting spoke up about it, saying that Iyer’s snub has only increased his desire to perform well for the team. I was really disappointed… but he handled it well and moved on. He’s really eager to do well every time he plays for us and wants to lead his team to victory, Ponting said in an ICC interview.
Ponting also mentioned that Iyer has done everything needed to earn a spot in the Test team and expressed his disappointment about Iyer’s omission. Other players picked for that Test squad performed well in first-class cricket and had good IPL seasons leading up to the selection, and Shreyas has done just as much as those players, he pointed out.