As the newly appointed captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS) Shreyas Iyer intends to lead his team toward a championship victory. Before the 2025 IPL started, Iyer stood as captain of KKR until he was removed from his position in 2024 when the team won its third IPL championship.
Speaking to JioHotstar, Shreyas Iyer declared that he is prepared to guide his new IPL side, the Punjab Kings, to victory. He revealed his desire to win it for his new squad. He claimed that Punjab Kings had not yet won an IPL championship and that he wanted to do so for them as soon as he was selected by PBKS. Additionally, he wanted to give the supporters something to celebrate since he thought it would be historic if the Punjab Kings won the IPL 2025 trophy.
“From the moment I was picked in the auction, my desire has been clear, Punjab Kings haven’t won the IPL yet, and my goal is to lift the trophy for them. That would be a historic achievement, and I want to make the fans happy and give them a reason to celebrate. A Punjabi celebration at the end of the season would be something special!”
Shreyas Iyer
During the 2024 season Iyer led both Delhi Capitals to the finals and Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL win in 10 years. The Punjab Kings will begin their IPL 2025 tournament facing the Gujarat Titans on March 25 at Narendra Modi Stadium but Iyer hopes to achieve the same victory for his team.
Shreyas Iyer Talks About the Joy of Commentary in Regional Languages
Throughout his speech, Iyer emphasized the importance of regional language commentary. He also shared his message in Hindi, stating that when he first started playing cricket, he would converse in his native tongue in the dressing room. In Mumbai, shots are also known by different names, and people in different locations have their own names for them, he said:
“We do enjoy it. When we started playing cricket, we used to talk in our languages in the dressing room. In Mumbai, we even have different names for shots. In different regions, people have their way of describing how a shot was played. When we hear it for the first time, it’s a bit of a culture shock–like, wow, these are the words used in cricket! As you progress to the international level, you get to learn about these different expressions.”
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer has amassed 3,127 runs at an average of 32.23 and a strike rate of 127.47 since making his debut in 2015, with 21 half-centuries. He had a peak score of 96. His debut season (2015) with the Delhi Capitals saw him win the ‘Emerging Player’ award as he scored 439 runs at an average of 33.77 in 14 games, including four fifties.
In 2018, Iyer assumed his first captaincy role for the Delhi franchise which led to his team reaching the 2020 finals but lost to the Mumbai Indians. KKR acquired him in 2022 under the leadership of coach Gautam Gambhir who led them to victory in the 2024 season.
