Shreyas Iyer of Punjab Kings (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
Shreyas Iyer has seen a remarkable transformation in his white-ball career since his return to the Indian set-up for the ODI series against England in February. He has been brilliantly consistent while also unleashing a more fluent and destructive version of himself, both in 50-over cricket and in the T20 format. Shreyas is the captain of Punjab Kings in the 2025 Indian Premier League and has led them to victory in the first couple of matches this season.
RG looks at Shreyas Iyer 2.0 – the batter and the leader.
The Background
He was snubbed by the BCCI for missing a domestic match. He played just three ODIs in 2024, scoring a total of 38 runs. He was not a part of India’s victorious T20 World Cup contingent in the Caribbean. Shreyas Iyer was out of favour, and the route back seemed tough and distant.
The Turnaround
Shreyas did not have a particularly great season with the bat in the IPL in 2024, failing in half the number of innings he represented Kolkata Knight Riders. But, where Shreyas the batter fell short, Shreyas the leader stepped in. Captaining the franchise, Shreyas led KKR to their third IPL title and their first since 2014! Under his leadership, the team unleashed a new aggressive and destructive brand of cricket which set a new benchmark not only in the history of the coveted league but for T20 cricket itself!
Shreyas also led Mumbai to the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title where they beat Madhya Pradesh in the final in Bengaluru. He regained some of his hitting prowess and scored 345 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 188.5 – the second-highest scoring rate among all batters who registered a minimum of 300 runs in the competition.
Two back-to-back T20 trophies reignited Shreyas Iyer – the leader and batter. His career was back on the upswing and Punjab Kings shelled out a whopping INR 26.75 crore for the Indian star at the 2025 IPL auctions in Jeddah, making him the second-most expensive player in IPL history!
Shreyas 2.0 was born.
The Comeback for India
Shreyas was recalled to the Indian team for the ODI series against England in February this year and he did not disappoint. Shreyas was the second-highest run-getter with an aggregate of 181 runs at a strike rate of 123, including two fifties. As significant as the runs he scored was the rate at which he scored them and the timing of his performances. Shreyas walked out to bat at 19/2 in the series opener in Nagpur and counter-attacked with 59 off just 36 deliveries, laying the foundation for India’s chase. He then blasted 78 off 64 deliveries in the third ODI in Ahmedabad, putting together a century stand with Shubman Gill.
Shreyas continued in his rich vein of form and returned as India’s highest run-getter in their victorious campaign at the 2025 Champions Trophy in UAE/Pakistan. He aggregated 243 runs in five innings including two fifties and two forties. His best knock came against New Zealand when he walked out to bat with his team reeling at 22/2 (which soon worsened to 30/3) and scored a fluent 79 off 98 deliveries, top-scoring for India as they stitched together a competitive 249 on a spinner-friendly Dubai wicket. Shreyas chipped in with a couple of forties at critical junctures both in the semi-final against Australia and the final against New Zealand.
Shreyas’ ability to soak in pressure and still score significantly at a fast pace even as others in the team struggled stood out since his return in the England series. While he was always a fine player of spin, Shreyas’ batting against pace showed a dramatic improvement in these eight matches. He hammered 186 runs off just 141 deliveries at a rate of 132 against the faster bowlers.
Great Start to IPL 2025
Punjab Kings has been one of the worst-performing franchises in IPL history. They have not made the playoffs in the last 10 seasons (since 2014). However, with Shreyas at the helm, 2025 might just be a revolutionary year for the franchise. They got off to a fantastic start, smashing 243/5 against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, and it was their new skipper, Shreyas, who led the way with a sensational undefeated 97 off just 42 deliveries – the highlight of his knock being the nine towering sixes.
The captain showed the way in the 172-run chase against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow, hammering an unbeaten 52 off just 30 deliveries. LSG gunned down the target in the 17th over with eight wickets in hand.
One of the striking features of Shreyas’ batting during these two matches has been his control of the pull shot. He has scored 36 runs off just 13 deliveries playing the pull without being dismissed. Once his weakness across all formats, Shreyas seems to have put in the hard yards and it is paying rich dividends.
Shreyas’ cool and calm temperament as a batter and as a leader on the field has stood out in the first couple of wins for his franchise in this edition. It will indeed be a great story if he can inspire Punjab Kings to the playoffs this season.
Nikhil Narain is a die-hard cricket romantic, published author, and has worked for some of the leading digital websites and broadcasters in India and overseas. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Nikhil's forte is using data and numbers creatively to weave interesting stories and revolutionize the way cricket statistics are generated and analyzed.
