The former coach Sunil Gavaskar has taken a new dig at current head coach Gautam Gambhir, while praising Shreyas Iyer for his captaincy stint at Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025.
Shreyas Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in the last season, has not been retained by the franchise ahead of the season. However, he has been running a successful campaign with the Punjab Kings in the 2025 season.
With PBKS reaching the playoffs, Iyer has become the first captain to lead three different teams to the knockout stages in the IPL.
Praising his leadership skills, Sunil Gavaskar said that Iyer did not get credit for helping KKR win the IPL 2024 title despite being the leader on the ground.
“He did not get the credit for the IPL victory last season. All the plaudits were given to someone else. It is the captain who plays a major role in what is happening in the middle, not someone sitting in the dugout,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
“See, this year he’s getting fair credit. No one is giving all the credit to Ricky Ponting,” Gavaskar added.
Gautam Gambhir has been the KKR’s mentor for the last season, was seen as the main cause for Kolkata’s title win, while Iyer received very little praise.
However, Ricky Ponting has proven to be a perfect foil for captain Iyer. Together, they led Delhi to reach their first finals in 2020.
Ponting was certain to clinch Iyer during the IPL 2025 mega auction, as PBKS went on as high as INR 26.75 crore for the Indian batter.
Iyer has been phenomenal in PBKS campaign scored 435 runs at strike rate of 174.70 in 12 games so far in the IPL 2025. The side has two games left in the group stages with their next match will be played against Delhi Capitals on May 24 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
