Veteran Team India batter Shreyas Iyer opened up on being surprised by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) buying him at a whooping price of ₹26.75 crores in the IPL 2025 auction as well. He became the second most expensive player in IPL history behind only Rishabh Pant as well. However, Iyer has recently been appointed the PBKS skipper for the 2025 season after he led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last year to their
third IPL title.
Talking about his auction price in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Iyer said: “I was absolutely gobsmacked. I wasn’t expecting that amount, but I was expecting somewhere around that amount. So once [the bidding] crossed a certain point, I was covering my ears with cotton and I just didn’t want to stay in front of the TV. I went to the washroom. I was in Hyderabad at that point of time, playing Syed Mushtaq Ali (Iyer was Mumbai captain). Yeah, I was dumbstruck.”
“The feeling is completely different – it’s like you’re holding the queen’s necklace, hypothetically speaking. The feeling is outstanding. It’s a proud feeling to be one of the eight guys. The journey has been like a rollercoaster ride, it has never been easy. I’m someone who believes thoroughly in winning all the time. I hate losing, personally, and I think that’s what has elevated me to where I am right now as a captain,” he again stated.
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KKR, under Shreyas Iyer, won nine out of their 12 completed league stage games before beatingSunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 and the grand finale. Shreyas Iyer also lauded newly appointed PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting as someone who shares responsibility for the good and bad with the captain as well.
“The responsibility is also shared equally. It’s not that we will be putting the blame on each other. I’ve worked with him in the past, I know how his mindset is, and I know he gives that sort of freedom. If you are owning up to the responsibilities and putting your hand up to say that, okay, yeah, I’m the one who made that mistake, or I’m the one to bite the bullet, he would be more than welcoming,” said Shreyas Iyer.
“I know his nature – he is someone who likes a person or a player who owns up to his mistakes. That’s one great thing about him. Also, T20 is such a fast-paced game, things are bound to happen. And the ones who make the least amount of mistakes are the ones who stay calm and composed. And I’m sure as a coach he provides that sort of composure to every individual,” he concluded.
