Mumbai, May 16
As Punjab Kings remain in contention for a playoffs spot, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar feels Shreyas Iyer will play a key role for them in the race to the play-offs, as IPL 2025 resumes on Saturday.
PBKS are currently in the third position with 15 points from 11 matches, a point behind Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who are sharing the top two positions with 16 points each -- the Titans ahead on net run rate.
Talking about the importance of Shreyas Iyer's leadership in keeping Punjab Kings in contention for the IPL 2025 playoffs spot, Gavaskar said, "That actually tells you the importance of captaincy because look, the coach is in there and he does come at the strategic time-out - the coach and the support staff. But at the end of the day, the decision in a split second has to be taken by the captain, and for that, I think you've got to give credit to Shreyas Iyer for the way he led last year because they were in a tough situation."
"But he got them out of a tough situation to go on to win, and I think he's doing exactly the same over here. They've had a bit of bad luck if you might call it that, because they started very well in the game at Dharamshala (which was later called off)," Sunil Gavaskar told IANS on the Star Sports Press Room show on Friday.
"They were 124-1 in 10 overs there, and that's a fabulous start. Then again, at the Eden Gardens, they had scored about 206 or 207 - most often a winning score, but the game got rained off. So yes, they've had a little bit of luck not going their way. They'll be hoping that it turns around this time," he said.
In the resumed IPL 2025, Punjab Kings have three more matches to play. They will restart their campaign on Sunday with a clash with Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
PBKS will then meet Delhi Capitals in a rematch of the game that was halted 10.1 overs into action in Dharamsala on May 8. They will end their campaign against Mumbai Indians, another match that was to be held in Dharamsala but was later moved to Ahmedabad, in Jaipur on May 26.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Gavaskar sir is absolutely right about Shreyas Iyer's captaincy! PBKS has been unlucky with rain interruptions, but their batting looks solid this season. That 124-1 in 10 overs at Dharamshala was 🔥 Hope they can maintain this momentum in Jaipur!
As a PBKS fan since 2008, I've seen so many near-misses. This year feels different though - the team has better balance. But why do we always lose points to rain? 😠Need to win all 3 remaining matches to be sure of playoffs.
While I agree with most points, PBKS bowling still looks weak in death overs. They conceded 200+ too many times. Captaincy can only do so much when bowlers keep failing in crunch situations. Need to address this in next auction.
The match shifting from Dharamshala to Ahmedabad is unfair! PBKS had home advantage there. BCCI should have better contingency plans for weather disruptions. Still hoping our boys in red can pull off a miracle 💪 #SaddaPunjab
Shreyas has been brilliant but let's not forget the impact players like Jitesh and Livingstone have made. PBKS finally has firepower in middle order which was missing for years. If they make playoffs, it'll be because of team effort, not just captaincy.
As neutral fan, PBKS matches have been most entertaining this IPL! Their batting approach is fearless cricket at its best. Win or lose, they're giving us great matches. Hope they qualify - would love to see them in playoffs after so long!
Here are 6 authentic Indian perspective comments for the IPL 2025 article: We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.