Shreyas Iyer led Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final. Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer was one of the standout performers in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The right-handed batsman captained Punjab Kings (PBKS) to the final, where they ultimately lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), finishing as runners-up.
Despite the loss, it was a significant achievement for the franchise, which had not reached the playoffs for the past ten seasons, their last appearance being in 2014. Remarkably, Shreyas Iyer became the first captain in IPL history to take three different teams to the tournament final. Under his leadership, Delhi Capitals (DC) finished as runners-up in 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the title in 2024, and PBKS reached the final in the latest edition.
Iyer also played a crucial role in IPL 2025’s Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians (MI), scoring an unbeaten 87 runs to almost single-handedly guide his team to victory during a challenging 204-run chase. His brilliant innings received widespread praise from the cricket community.
Shreyas Iyer Enters the Captaincy Race in White-Ball Formats
According to the Indian Express, a key decision-maker in Indian cricket believes that Shreyas Iyer has now joined the captaincy race for the ODI and T20 formats following his impressive performance with Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2025. Currently, Rohit Sharma leads the Indian team in ODIs, while Suryakumar Yadav captains the T20 side. Shubman Gill was recently appointed as the Test captain.
“Right now, he only plays ODIs, but after this IPL, it’s impossible to keep him out of T20 internationals and even Tests. Moreover, he has officially entered the white-ball captaincy race,” the official stated.
There had been reports suggesting that Shubman Gill might soon take over the ODI captaincy, as the BCCI wants him to build the team for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup. However, with Shreyas Iyer now being considered for leadership roles, it remains uncertain who will ultimately take charge.
Currently, Shreyas Iyer is a regular in India’s ODI squad. Despite his strong performances in domestic cricket over the past year, he was not selected for the Test series against England, a decision that sparked considerable discussion among cricket fans and experts.
In IPL 2025, Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 matches, finishing as the sixth-highest run-scorer of the tournament and the leading scorer for his team. He maintained an excellent average of 50.33 and an impressive strike rate of 175.07, registering six half-centuries, including a top score of an unbeaten 97 against the Gujarat Titans (GT).
