Shreyas Iyer hit an unbeaten 87 to help PBKS reach the IPL 2025 final. He has now been earmarked to lead India in multiple formats.
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer is the first skipper in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to lead three different teams to the finals of the premier T20 competition. The right-handed batter was at his absolute best in Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians as he hit an unbeaten 87-run knock of 41 balls to propel PBKS to the final of the tournament, where they will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
As soon as the match-winning runs came from Shreyas' bat, former India batter Robin Uthappa took to X (formerly Twitter) to predict that the 30-year-old will lead India in multiple formats in the coming years.
It needs to be mentioned that Shreyas Iyer is currently not a part of India's Test and T20I side. The batter was not picked for the upcoming series against England, and he did not feature in the team in India's last T20I series as well.
However, Shreyas Iyer was India's MVP in the Champions Trophy, where Rohit Sharma and co won the tournament without losing a single match.
Shreyas Iyer has shown great leadership in the ongoing IPL 2025, and his astute reading of the game is one of the major reasons why PBKS qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Shreyas, who was picked up by PBKS for INR 26.75 crore, repaid the faith by performing both as a leader and batter in the IPL 2025 season. His performance has now been taken notice by Uthappa, who earmarked the Punjab Kings captain for greatness.
“I’ve said this time and again and I’ll say it AGAIN!! Iyer will captain India in multiple formats!! He has to!! He’s that good,” Uthappa wrote on X.
More than 600 runs for Shreyas Iyer in IPL 2025
Shreyas Iyer has let his bat do all the talking in the IPL 2025 season as he has amassed 603 runs in 16 matches for PBKS at an average of 54.82 and a strike rate of 175.80.
His partnership with head coach Ricky Ponting has paid off well, as the duo has transformed PBKS into a world-beating side. It must be mentioned that Ponting and Shreyas worked together at Delhi Capitals, and the duo were the men behind DC's reaching the final in IPL 2020.
Shreyas Iyer is the first captain in IPL history to lead three different teams to finals. He first made the final with Delhi Capitals in 2020 and he then led KKR to their third title in 2024.
