Indian cricket is currently in its golden phase in white ball cricket, especially considering the future prospects of white ball cricketers, they have a lot of talent. Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer is undoubtedly one of the most talented names who has been overlooked from the Indian T20I team in the last few years.
Punjab Kings has one of the most successful captains in the history of the team’s legacy in the IPL in the form of Shreyas Iyer. The Indian middle-order batsmen have almost revamped the team and rediscovered their capabilities.
Under Iyer’s leadership, Punjab Kings won nine of their league stage matches, while two of them ended in draws. He then led the team in three knockout matches, winning Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians, but finished runners-up after losing twice to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the playoffs.
“Is Shreyas Iyer making a case to be considered as a captaincy option in white-ball cricket, primarily T20Is?”. – Zaheer Khan answers this question
Shreyas Iyer has started his captaincy streak from where he left it last season. Iyer has truly been an amazing leader in PBKS, leading them to five wins in their first 6 matches in IPL 2026. Under the captain, the team is looking unstoppable in every way.
Iyer has also scored 200+ runs this season and has performed brilliantly on the field for Punjab Kings; Despite this, during a fan poll fans chose his captaincy as his standout feature. After these discussions, a discussion has started whether Iyer should be given the captaincy in India’s white ball setup.
Responding to this question, former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz, “I think the first thing that will be on his mind is to be a part of the T20 setup; I am not sure whether he is thinking about captaincy at the moment or not. He could be a contender for it in the future, if that is what you are asking.”
“He should think about making an impact with his performance” – Zaheer Khan
Zaheer then emphasized the fact that captaincy is a long-term goal for the experienced Indian batsman; Firstly, he should aim to cement a place in a T20 XI that already looks well-equipped with former players still in form and a number of new players waiting in the queue.
Reflecting on Shreyas’ tremendous record as captain of three IPL franchises, Zaheer said, “He has been captaining franchises for quite some time now and has been successful in the way he has led them. Obviously, he has that kind of thinking and mentality.”
However, he added, “When you look at the kind of players the Indian team has, I think first of all his aim should be to make an impact with individual performances to secure a spot as a player. He is definitely very hungry to make a mark with individual performances.”
Shreyas Iyer becomes the first captain in IPL history to lead a 6-match undefeated series
Shreyas Iyer started his captaincy journey in the IPL under Ricky Ponting when he was with Delhi Capitals as a young and promising youngster. He later moved to Kolkata Knight Riders after tremendous success with the Capitals, which included two playoff appearances and a runners-up finish in the IPL.
With the Knight Riders, Iyer led them to the title in his only full season as team captain and was later bought for a whopping price of Rs 26.75 crore. Since then, he has led by example.
Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer and the coaching of Ricky Ponting, PBKS made the finals in the IPL after a decade and finished as runners-up last season. However, they look to be more motivated to lift the cup for the first time this season as they have a record of remaining undefeated after the first six matches of the IPL season.
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