 "Shreyas Iyer scripts historic milestone as first IPL captain while PBKS thump MI in Jaipur")
Shreyas Iyer is making a strong case for being regarded as the greatest ever investment that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) have ever made . Some of the best cricketers, including Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag, have played for the franchise, but none have had the impact Shreyas Iyer has achieved in only his first season at the franchise, which is largely seen as an underachiever in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
PBKS spent Rs 26.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction to catch hold of Shreyas Iyer after the 30-year-old was surprisingly released by the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). While KKR exited the IPL 2025 early, PBKS have reached the playoffs under Iyer’s captaincy for the first time in 11 years.
Not only that, on Monday, Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by seven wickets to ensure a top-two finish in the IPL 2025 league table. The top two teams will have two chances in the playoffs to reach the final, while the teams finishing in third and fourth start with an Eliminator.
By guiding BKS to the playoffs, Shreyas Iyer had become the first IPL captain to lead three different teams to the IPL playoffs . He had achieved the same feat with KKR last season and in 2020 with the Delhi Capitals (DC).
Shreyas Iyer: First IPL captain to register top two finishes with three teams
The Monday win had helped Shreyas Iyer register another massive captaincy milestone, which has happened for the first time in IPL’s history. Iyer is now the first-ever captain to help three different teams reach Qualifier 1 in IPL playoffs. This means three different teams under his captaincy have finished in the top two in the IPL league stages.
This had never happened in the history of IPL and it goes on to show Iyer’s capability to adapt to different teams and inspire so many players at so many different sides.
Shreyas Iyer, however, is a long way behind MS Dhoni when it comes to leading a team to Qualifier 1 in the IPL. Dhoni has achieved this feat seven times as compared to Iyer’s 5. Shreyas Iyer’s former Mumbai teammate Rohit Sharma has done so five times.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMost instances of captains leading teams to Qualifier 1 in IPL
7 - MS Dhoni
5 - Rohit Sharma
3 - Shreyas Iyer
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