Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, Punjab Kings (PBKS) made it all the way to the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. However, they narrowly missed the title, losing to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by just 6 runs in the final. Although Iyer couldn’t lead the team to the championship, his leadership and batting performance won immense praise.
T20 Comeback on the Cards for Shreyas Iyer?
Shreyas Iyer not only impressed as a captain but also delivered with the bat. In IPL 2025, he scored a total of 604 runs in 17 matches at an impressive average of 50.33, including six half-centuries. Iyer became the first-ever captain to take three different teams to the IPL final — Delhi Capitals (2020), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and now Punjab Kings. Notably, he led KKR to the IPL title in 2024.
Following his brilliant performance in the recent IPL season, Iyer is now being considered for a return to India’s T20I squad. He hasn’t played a T20I for India since December 2023, but that might soon change. According to a report by The Indian Express, Iyer is likely to return to the T20I setup with the 2026 T20 World Cup in mind.
A BCCI source reportedly said, “At the moment, Shreyas Iyer only plays ODIs, but after this IPL, we can’t overlook him for T20 Internationals — or even Test matches.”
In Contention for Captaincy Too
The source also revealed that Shreyas Iyer is now officially in the race for captaincy. He is being seen as a potential successor to Rohit Sharma in ODI cricket. “He is now officially part of the race for white-ball captaincy,” the source added.
Shreyas Iyer has been a consistent performer in ODIs. He played a vital role in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 triumph, scoring 243 runs in five matches, including two half-centuries. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, he scored 530 runs in 11 innings at an average of 66.25, with two centuries and three fifties.
Despite his outstanding performances in white-ball cricket, Iyer has not been given a chance to return to the Test side. He was also left out of the Indian squad for the upcoming England Test tour.