Shreyas Iyer, whose recent form has not been great, but he is still a key player when it comes to the IPL. For IPL 2025, Punjab Kings bought him for Rs 26.75 crore, making him the second most expensive player in IPL history. It’s fair to say this stylish batter has experienced more moments of joy in the IPL circuit than disappointments. In a total of 115 matches played to date in his IPL career, he has scored 3,127 runs, with an average of 32.24.
What has also come into the spotlight is his captaincy. He made his debut as a captain in the IPL with Delhi Capitals formerly Delhi Daredevils, in 2018, becoming the youngest player to lead the team. Under his captaincy, the franchise made it to their first IPL final in 2020. Later, Iyer went to Kolkata Knight Riders , where he gave a team a remarkable success, leading KKR to one of the most dominant IPL title wins in 2024.
Before the auction, there was speculation linking him with many teams, but the verdict is now out, he is with PBKS. However, many believe there are other teams that could have utilized Iyer’s potential better than PBKS. But which teams could have been a better fit for Iyer than this franchise?
Teams where Shreyas Iyer could have been utilized better than PBKS in IPL 2025
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
When RCB came out with their retention list, they left many players out and focused on strengthening their batting with players like Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar. They went into the auction with a huge sum of 83 crores, which meant they had the money to buy him. More importantly, they needed a strong batter, a top-order player who could dominate the bowlers. We’ve seen how RCB has struggled at times to maintain consistency in batting, and there were expectations from RCB’s side that they wouldn’t miss this opportunity and would try to bring Iyer into their camp, where he would have been the perfect fit.
Delhi Capitals
As mentioned initially, DC is not new to Iyer, and the same Iyer is familiar with the Delhi Capitals management. In fact, he was the captain of the team and led them very well. Since DC released many batters, there was already an expectation that DC might go out of their way to purchase this player, as the team needed both a batter and a captain. However, the reality is that he is not with this camp.
Mumbai Indians
Since Iyer understands the Mumbai ground and the team that retained core players like Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Tilak Verma, and Suryakumar Yadav, the space for Iyer seems slim. However, he could have been the perfect pick for the camp due to his powerful batting. As mentioned, the team plays more than six games at their home ground, and Iyer understands the Mumbai ground. There is no doubt that he could have been the best player for MI in IPL 2025.
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