Shreyas Iyer turned heads with his impressive captaincy for Punjab Kings in IPL 2025. It was his very first season with the franchise, and he guided them all the way to the final. Punjab made it to the IPL final after 11 long years, and although they lost to RCB by just 6 runs, Iyer’s leadership was a major highlight of the tournament.
He ended the season as Punjab’s highest run-scorer, amassing 604 runs in 17 matches, which included 6 solid half-centuries. His standout performance came in Qualifier 1 against Mumbai Indians, where he scored an unbeaten 87 to take his team into the final. That knock alone proved why Iyer is considered one of the smartest minds in Indian cricket today.
According to a reports, quoting a senior decision-maker in Indian cricket, Shreyas Iyer is now being seriously considered for a leadership role in white-ball formats. The official stated, “He currently plays only ODIs, but after this IPL season, we can’t keep him out of T20Is or even Tests. And yes, he has officially entered the white-ball captaincy race.”
In the past five years, Iyer has led three different IPL franchises to the finals – a feat only achieved by legends like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. In 2024, he was with Kolkata Knight Riders, but after a disagreement over retention fees, KKR let him go. Punjab Kings made the most of this and found not just a solid batsman, but a natural leader.
Iyer’s captaincy style is well-balanced – calm and composed like Dhoni, but aggressive when needed, just like Virat Kohli. He also brings the fearless energy of a typical Mumbaikar, much like Rohit Sharma.
Despite his excellent form and leadership, Iyer was not picked for the upcoming Test series against England, which left even his Punjab coach Ricky Ponting surprised. Ponting said, “I was a bit gutted, but Shreyas took it positively. He’s focused on improving and becoming the best leader he can be.”
With such performances and growing leadership qualities, Shreyas Iyer has made a strong case for himself. If his current form continues, we might soon see him leading Team India in the near future.