Shreyas Iyer's IPL 2026 Manifestation: "The Goal is to Lift the Trophy"

Speaking on JioStar's 'Believe', Shreyas Iyer said, "For this year, the manifestation is to win the IPL. I just want to put it out there in the universe that I want to lift the trophy. There are going to be small steps to reach that stage. It will definitely take a team effort, and everyone has to think in that direction; only then can you achieve that," Iyer said.

Last year's IPL runners-up, Punjab Kings, have been in excellent form this year as well. Currently, they are the only unbeaten team in the tournament with five wins in six matches, with one of their matches yielding a no result due to rain. PBKS are leading the IPL 2026 points table with a solid net run rate of +1.420.

Iyer, under the coaching of Ricky Ponting, has led the team impeccably well as PBKS have hardly faced a challenge in their last four wins. They were made to work hard for the win in their IPL 2026 campaign opener against the Gujarat Titans, but have cruised to victories in every match since then.

In their last match, Punjab Kings produced a dominant all-round performance to defeat Lucknow Super Giants by 54 runs in Mullanpur.

Batting first, PBKS posted 254/7, powered by explosive knocks from Priyansh Arya (93 off 37) and Cooper Connolly (87 off 46), as the duo stitched a 182-run stand that dismantled the LSG bowling attack.

In reply, LSG started strongly with a 61-run opening stand between Mitchell Marsh (40) and Ayush Badoni (35), while Rishabh Pant (43) kept them in the chase.

However, wickets at regular intervals, including key strikes from Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Arshdeep Singh, derailed their momentum. LSG eventually finished at 200/5, falling well short of the target as Punjab's bowlers held their nerve in the second half of the innings.

Shreyas Iyer also said that he approaches the game with a "winning mentality" "Whenever I play in any tournament, I play to win. For me, winning is everything; there is no substitute. Even if it doesn't happen, that is fine, I can accept it and move on. But whatever I do, whatever my efforts are for, it is for the trophy. I play to win. Whatever tournaments and opportunities come up next, I will definitely want to win them," Iyer said.

Shreyas Iyer was close to being an ODI World Cup winner back in the 2023 World Cup that was held in India. However, India, who remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, faced an excruciating six-wicket loss to Australia in the finals at Ahmedabad.

Iyer scored 530 runs in 11 matches at the tournament at an average of 66.25.

- ANI