The face of Punjab Kings’ revival, Shreyas Iyer, demonstrated why he is among the best captains in the T20 sport today. Fresh from leading the Kolkata Knight Riders to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 championship, Shreyas Iyer joined PBKS, a team that has yet to lift any trophy to date prior to the 2025 season. Despite being made fun of at first, Shreyas Iyer demonstrated he can elicit the best out of his players. There is, however, behind his PBKS success, also the pain of being ‘underappreciated at KKR, as per former India legend Robin Uthappa.
Robin Uthappa on Departure of Shreyas Iyer from KKR
In a JioStar chat, Uthappa, who had also played for the Knight Riders in the past, stated that Iyer wasn’t satisfied with his place at the franchise last season. Thus, decided to leave.
“Shreyas has always been an exceptional captain. You always sensed that he felt underappreciated at KKR despite adding value there,” Uthappa said.
“He moved to a franchise where not much had been achieved historically, and then went on to win it for them. That says a lot about his leadership and belief,” he added.
Punjab advanced to the Qualifier 1 following a win against Mumbai Indians during their last league match of the season. But, the work is hardly done the management’s quest continues winning the team its first title in the T20 league ever.
Uthappa on PBKS Momentum and Key Players
“You want momentum at the right point in the tournament and the right kind of impetus going into the play-offs. Punjab started the tournament exceptionally well, lost a bit of steam towards the back end of the league stage, but regained momentum just before the play-offs,” said Uthappa.
“Granted, they’re losing a player or two to national duty, but even within the squad, the batting line-up looks really solid. For me, Arshdeep Singh hasn’t quite fired yet, and that actually augurs well for Punjab. It means he’s due for a big performance and will be raring to go in crucial games,” he added.
