Kamal Ghorui
Shreyas Iyer is the only Indian captain to reach the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with three different teams — Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2024, and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2025.Despite leading KKR to the title in 2024, Iyer did not receive much credit for the win and was released by the franchise the following season.Speaking on JioStar, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra explained why Iyer’s role as captain has often not been fully recognised and what could change that perception.“I think his contribution as a leader got diluted a bit in the narrative that’s often set by people who are not a part of the team. Two things happened at KKR with Shreyas Iyer. He was in a setup where the coach was also a very strong and popular personality. That wasn’t the case with MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma, or even Virat Kohli at RCB, where there wasn’t such a dominant figure outside calling the shots,” Chopra said.“Here, you had Gautam Gambhir, a very successful player and a very good mentor. The others, MS, Rohit and Kohli, have been India Captains for a significant period and very successful ones. Credit is already given to them on a platter. In Shreyas’ case, he is not an India Captain. But he is now getting his due, because he is doing so well,” the former KKR player added.Iyer will lead Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL season after taking them to the final last year. In his first season with the franchise, he scored 604 runs at an average of over 50 and a strike rate of 175.07.Chopra also spoke about what could lead to wider recognition for Iyer as a captain.“If you think that if he wins one more trophy, everything will suddenly change and everyone will stand up and applaud, that may not happen. The appreciation may get louder, but his aura will not change overnight. Something like that can happen only in one scenario. The next T20 World Cup is in 2028. I am not saying that India’s T20 leadership will change immediately, but there is a possibility a couple of years down the line,” he said.“If he stakes a claim to that spot, scores run, which is the first criterion, takes his team to the playoffs, the final, or wins the trophy, and somehow becomes India’s T20I Captain in the near future, whether in 12 months or by the next World Cup, then everything will change. He could even become a World Cup-winning captain for India, and that aura is different. Then he would not need any endorsement from anyone,” he concluded.
