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'Shreyas Iyer felt underappreciated at KKR despite adding value': Robin Uthappa hails PBKS captain's leadership skills
IPL 2025: Robin Uthappa hailed Shreyas for changing the fortunes around for PBKS, who have underachieved in the IPL ever since its inception.
Shreyas Iyer is the talk of the town. The right-handed batter has led Punjab Kings to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Not just this, Punjab Kings have finished inside the top two, meaning they will now have two cracks at making it to the final. PBKS will take on either Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) or Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on Thursday, May 29 in Mullanpur.
Former India batter Robin Uthappa hailed Shreyas for changing the fortunes around for PBKS who have underachieved in the IPL ever since its inception. He also talked about Shreyas' exit from KKR despite leading the franchise to their third title last year.
Shreyas wasn't retained by KKR despite performing exceptionally well as a leader and captain last season. He then entered the mega auction, where Punjab Kings picked him up for INR 26.75 crore.
Several cricket pundits and fans believe Shreyas did not get enough credit for KKR's win last season, as most of the applause was reserved for the then-KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir, who is now the head coach of the senior India men's team.
“Shreyas has always been an exceptional captain. You always sensed that he felt underappreciated at KKR despite adding value there,” Uthappa said on JioStar.
“He moved to a franchise where not much had been achieved historically — and then went on to win it for them. That says a lot about his leadership and belief,” he added.
Shreyas has been exceptional with the bat as well this season, scoring 514 runs in 14 matches at an average of 51.40 and a strike rate of 171.91.
Punjab Kings stun Mumbai Indians
Punjab Kings did not break a sweat in defeating Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday as they chased down 185 with seven wickets in hand and nine balls to spare.
Uthappa feels Mumbai Indians batters failed to put enough runs on the board and the total was not big enough to pose a serious challenge in front of PBKS batters.
“You want momentum at the right point in the tournament and the right kind of impetus going into the play-offs. Punjab started the tournament exceptionally well, lost a bit of steam towards the back end of the league stage, but regained momentum just before the play-offs,” said Uthappa.
“Granted, they’re losing a player or two to national duty, but even within the squad, the batting line-up looks really solid. For me, Arshdeep Singh hasn't quite fired yet, and that actually augurs well for Punjab. It means he’s due for a big performance and will be raring to go in crucial games,” he added.
Mumbai Indians will now face either RCB or Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator on Friday, May 30 in Mullanpur.
