Team India batter Shreyas Iyer shared his disappointment at not getting due recognition for leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to glory in IPL 2024 as well. He led the side brilliantly as well. However, KKR finished atop the points table with nine wins in 12 completed games
and beat the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 and the final to clinch their third IPL title as well. Yet, Iyer was not retained by KKR ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. He was acquired by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for the second-highest price in IPL history at ₹26.75 crores in the auction as well.
Reflecting on a rollercoaster last year after helping India win the 2025 Champions Trophy, Shreyas Iyer told TOI: “I personally felt I didn’t get the recognition I wanted to after winning the IPL but at the end of the day, as long as you have self integrity and you keep doing the right things when no one is watching, that is more important and that is what I kept doing. Frustration toh nahi tha because I was playing IPL. The major focus was to win the IPL and thankfully I won it.”
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Shreyas Iyer was happy that his hard work following the 2023 ODI World Cup paid off, with India winning the 2025 Champions Trophy as well. He was the side’s top-scorer and second overall in the competition with 243 runs which came at an average of 48.60 and a strike rate of almost 80 in five outings as well.
“Extremely satisfying. To be honest it has been a journey and I have learnt a lot in this phase of my life where I got out of the contract after playing the 2023 ODI World Cup. I reassessed where I went wrong, what I should be doing, how well I need to focus on my fitness. I asked myself all these questions and prepared a routine and started focussing on my training and also the skills I added side by side. Once I got continuous matches in domestic cricket, I figured out how important fitness was for me especially when I raised my concerns at the start of the year,” Shreyas Iyer concluded.
