With the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to commence on March 28, the excitement is building. Although the schedule for only the first 20 matches has been unveiled due to state elections, discussions around team leadership are heating up. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has shed light on why Shreyas Iyer hasn’t received the accolades he deserves as captain.
In the previous IPL season, Iyer guided the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to victory, but his efforts went largely unnoticed. Chopra pointed out that Iyer played under a coach who was already a well-known figure, which may have overshadowed his contributions.
“His role as a leader has been somewhat eclipsed by external narratives from those outside the team,” Chopra remarked. “At KKR, Iyer had a strong mentor in Gautam Gambhir, a celebrated player. Unlike MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, or Virat Kohli, who have led the Indian team for years, Iyer hasn’t yet had that opportunity on the national stage. While the others have received praise effortlessly, Iyer is now starting to earn recognition for his impressive performance.”
As Iyer prepares to lead the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2026, they will kick off their campaign against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
IPL 2026, Punjab Kings: Full Squad
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.
