"If he can go there and win a title, he is going to be the next Indian captain" - Robin Uthappa on Shreyas Iyer joining PBKS at IPL 2025 Auction
Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa believes Shreyas Iyer leading the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a title would make him the frontrunner to be Team India's next captain. PBKS picked up Iyer for a whopping ₹26.75 crore on Day 1 (November 24) of the 2025 IPL auction.
The 29-year-old led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to arguably the most dominant season in IPL history earlier this year. Under Iyer's captaincy, KKR won nine of their 12 completed league-stage games before decimating Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) twice in Qualifier 1 and the final to clinch their third IPL title.
Speaking on Jio Cinema about the Iyer-PBKS union, Uthappa said:
"He is going from a championship-winning team to a team that has not won any titles. That will be a nice challenge for him. If he can go there and win a title, I have no doubt that he is going to be the next Indian captain."
PBKS have been the worst-performing franchise in IPL history, qualifying for the playoffs just twice in 17 editions.
Their last top-four finish came in 2014 when the side finished runners-up under former Australian captain George Bailey. Despite showing glimpses of brilliance in IPL 2024, PBKS finished second from bottom with only five wins in 14 outings.
"He'll be a great leader for our team" - Ricky Ponting on PBKS signing Shreyas Iyer
PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting has opined that Shreyas Iyer would be a great leader should he captain the franchise in the upcoming IPL season.
Ponting and Iyer worked as coach and captain with the Delhi Capitals (DC) from the middle of 2018 till 2020. The duo helped DC qualify for their lone final in IPL history in 2020.
Speaking to Star Sports after Iyer's signing, Ponting said:
"I wanted to work with Shreyas. I've worked with him before and he is a great guy and a great player. He'll be a great leader for our team if we decide to go that way, which I'm pretty sure we probably will. And obviously, he was the championship-winning captain last year. So there are lots of great things about bringing him to Punjab."
Iyer remained part of DC with Ponting as head coach in 2021, while Rishabh Pant took over the captaincy.
The former Australian captain was appointed PBKS' head coach after performing the role with DC for seven seasons from 2018 to 2024. Meanwhile, Iyer became the second-most expensive signing in IPL history on day 1 of the 2025 auction.