Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar thinks Shreyas Iyer hasn’t received enough credit for leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title. Even though KKR won the championship, Shreyas was let go before the IPL 2025 auction and ended up with the Punjab Kings (PBKS). While many praised KKR’s success to their mentor Gautam Gambhir, Gavaskar believes the captain should get most of the recognition.
Shreyas played well too, scoring 351 runs in 14 games at an average of 39, which included two fifties. “He didn’t get the credit for the IPL win last season. All the praise went to someone else. It’s the captain who has the biggest impact during the game, not just someone sitting on the sidelines,” Gavaskar commented on Star Sports.
This year, under Shreyas, PBKS is on track to qualify for the playoffs. They last reached the top four back in 2014 but lost to KKR in the finals. Gavaskar is pleased to see Shreyas finally getting the recognition he deserves this time, instead of giving all the credit to coach Ricky Ponting. “This year, he’s getting fair praise. Ricky Ponting isn’t the one getting all the credit,” Gavaskar said.
Shreyas was bought by PBKS in last year’s auction for a huge sum of Rs 26.75 crore. So far, that investment seems to be paying off, as he has scored 405 runs in 11 matches at an average of 50.63, with four fifties. As captain and with Ricky Ponting as head coach, Iyer has shown smart leadership, putting PBKS in a good spot with 15 points in third place on the points table. They need to win two of their three remaining matches to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2014.
Iyer and Ponting previously worked together at Delhi Capitals, where they made the playoffs in 2019 and were runners-up in 2020. Now reunited at PBKS, their partnership has really turned the team’s fortunes around, and they’re close to making it to the playoffs for the first time in over ten years.