NEW DELHI: Shreyas Iyer was named the 16th captain of the Punjab Kings in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which began in 2008.The franchise picked him up from the IPL 2025 mega auction at a staggering Rs 26.75 crore, which happened to be the second-highest bid on any player ever.
Iyer will take over from all-rounder Sam Curran of England, who had skippered the team earlier, and wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma, who had led in one game during IPL 2024. Iyer thus becomes the fourth player to lead three different IPL teams after Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Steve Smith.
Iyer led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title last year and has previously captained the Delhi Capitals.
Shreyas Iyer is the first IPL-winning captain to be released by his franchise after winning the title. Notably, he is the only captain in IPL history to have led two teams to the final. He led Delhi Capitals to their first final in 2020, where they were defeated by Mumbai Indians, and later captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a title win in 2024, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad.
As PBKS' 17th player and 12th full-time captain, Iyer hopes to win the franchise's first IPL title after a 17-year wait. In a recent interview, Iyer stated that he was "dumbstruck" by the amount that was bid during the auction.
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