Shreyas Iyer has been appointed as the 16th captain of Punjab Kings in the history of the Indian Premier League since 2008.
Shreyas Iyer was officially announced as the 16th captain of Punjab Kings in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since it’s inception in 2008. Iyer was bought by PBKS for Rs 26.75 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction – the second-highest bid for a cricketer in the history of the T20 league.
Iyer will replace England all-rounder Sam Curran as captain of the Bollywood star Preity Zinta co-owned side. Apart from Curran, wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma also led the Punjab side in one match in IPL 2024.
The Mumbai batter has now become the fourth player to captain three different teams in the IPL after Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Steve Smith. Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title last year apart from being the captain of Delhi Capitals in the past.
➡️ ! ©️♥️#CaptainShreyas #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/EFxxWYc44b
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) January 12, 2025
Kumar Sangakkara captained three IPL franchises during his career: Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2010, Deccan Chargers in 2012, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013. Meanwhile, Mahela Jayawardene briefly led PBKS in one match in 2010, served as the full-time captain of Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011, and captained Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2013. Steven Smith captained Pune Warriors in one match in 2012 before taking over as the leader of Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, replacing MS Dhoni. Smith also captained Rajasthan Royals (RR) for 27 matches between 2014 and 2020.
Shreyas Iyer holds the distinction of being the first IPL-winning captain to be released by his franchise in the season following their title victory. Notably, he is the only captain in IPL history to lead two different teams to the final. He guided Delhi Capitals to their maiden final in 2020, where they lost to Mumbai Indians, and later captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a title win in 2024 with a dominant victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Iyer has the opportunity to make IPL history by becoming the first captain to win the title with two different teams. Hardik Pandya, another captain in the 2025 IPL season, also has the chance to achieve this feat. Under Iyer’s leadership, PBKS will aim to end their 17-year quest for their first-ever IPL title.
Shreyas will be the 17th player to captain the Punjab-based franchise and the 12th full-time captain after Yuvraj Singh, Kumar Sangakkara, Adam Gilchrist, George Bailey, David Miller, Murali Vijay, Glenn Maxwell, Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Shikhar Dhawan.
Notably, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad also stand out for having each been led by more than 10 captains, with both franchises reaching a total of 14 captains in their history.
“I was absolutely gobsmacked. I wasn’t expecting that amount, but I was expecting somewhere around that amount. So once (the bidding) crossed a certain point, I was covering my ears with cotton and I just didn’t want to stay in front of the TV. I went to the washroom. I was in Hyderabad at that point of time, playing Syed Mushtaq Ali (Iyer was Mumbai captain). Yeah, I was dumbstruck,” Iyer told ESPNCricinfo website after being announced as the PBKS captain on Sunday.
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