Former India cricket team head coach Anil Kumble has pointed out that Shreyas Iyer belonged to that crop of players who had to prove themselves regularly despite having consistency. His remarks on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain comes right before the start of IPL 2026, where the Mumbai batter will be leading the franchise for the second year. Iyer’s PBKS narrowly missed out on securing their maiden title in IPL 2025 as they lost to RCB in the final by 6 runs.
‘Shreyas Iyer an underrated leader’
Speaking on JioHotstar, Kumble pointed out that Shreyas was underrated but an exceptional leader. The former RCB stalwart it is not easy for a captain to win the trophy with one franchise and move on to another. For the record, Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third title in 2024. However, he was released ahead of the mega auction and was roped in by PBKS for a whopping Rs 26.75 crore.
“Shreyas Iyer is certainly an underrated skipper. It is not easy to win a trophy with one franchise and then go to another. There is a different management, atmosphere and a team. The pressure is also different. The new franchise he joined had not played in the final in the last 10 years and in just his first season with the Punjab Kings, he took them to the final. I was not just impressed by his captaincy, but the way he led the team from the front. There are some players who have to prove themselves every time. Shreyas is like that. Even after performing, questions still come up. I think he is underrated, but is an exceptional leader,” Kumble said.
PBKS full squad for IPL 2026
Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Priyansh Arya, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Praveen Dubey
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