Shreyas Iyer, the second-highest paid player in the IPL auction, has been named captain of Punjab Kings for the upcoming 2025 season. The news was revealed on Sunday evening during an episode of the popular reality show Big Boss, where Iyer made a special appearance with his PBKS teammates Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh.
At 30 years old, Iyer is one of only eight captains to have claimed victory in the IPL. He achieved this feat by leading Kolkata Knight Riders, a team he captained from 2022 to 2024, to the title last season. In the latest mega auction for IPL 2025, PBKS had the strongest purse and successfully outbid Delhi Capitals – another team in search of a captain – to acquire Iyer for INR 26.75 crore (USD 3.18 million approx). For a brief moment, Iyer held the title of being the most expensive player in IPL history until Lucknow Super Giants picked Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crore (USD 3.21 mn approx), surpassing his record as the costliest purchase at an IPL auction.
Joining PBKS will mark Iyer’s third stint in the IPL, having previously played for DC since his debut in 2015 and KKR. During his time with DC, he was named captain midway through IPL 2018 and led the team to playoff appearances for three consecutive seasons, culminating in a second-place finish in 2020.
Recently, he also captained Mumbai to victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he was among the top scorers with 345 runs in nine innings at an impressive strike rate of 188.52 and an average of over 49.
Iyer is set to join forces once again with former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who has signed on as PBKS head coach for a four-year term. Their previous collaboration as coach and captain at DC was highly fruitful, leading to PBKS showing great determination in securing Iyer during the auction. According to Ponting, their successful partnership was a crucial consideration in PBKS’ efforts to acquire Iyer.
