Why Shreyas Iyer's Captaincy Genius is Overlooked, Says Aakash Chopra

Speaking on JioStar, the former India cricketer, Aakash Chopra, shared the possible reasons why Iyer does not get enough credit as a captain and what could change the overall perception of him as a leader.

Iyer led the KKR to their third title, but he didn't get enough credit for that. KKR released him from the squad the subsequent season, despite the title win.

Speaking about why Shreyas Iyer didn't get enough credit as the skipper in KKR's title win in 2024, Chopra said, "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."

"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," said Chopra.

Iyer will be leading Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL season after taking the PBKS to final last year. Playing for the PBKS for the first time in the last edition, Iyer made 604 runs at an average of above 50 and strike rate of 175.07.

Chopra also spoke about what could lead to an increase in recognition for Shreyas 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," said Chopra.

"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.

Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2026:

Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Cooper Connolly, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Ben Dwarshuis.

- ANI