Updated 29 May 2025 at 17:58 IST
IPL 2025: Punjab Kings are eyeing an end to their dismal playoff record in the history of the cash-rich Indian Premier League. Since the inception of the IPL, Punjab has played four playoff games and has won only one match. Their last win in the playoffs came back in 2014 when they defeated the Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2 and eventually went on to be defeated by Gautam Gambhir's Kolkata Knight Riders in the summit clash.
Shreyas Iyer has accomplished what many thought wasn't even possible. Iyer led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL win last year. But somehow the three-time champions let him go, and he was picked up by the Punjab Kings. Interestingly, Iyer has just not led Punjab to the playoffs, but his team has finished in the top two. What has been more remarkable is the fact that Iyer has achieved the same feat in two consecutive years with two franchises. Iyer has become the third captain after Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya who has led his team to a top two finish for two consecutive years.
Rohit Sharma achieved the same feat in 2019 and 2020. Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, managed to achieve it in 2022 and 2023. Shreyas Iyer is eyeing his second IPL title as a skipper, and if he achieves this, he will be the first and the only skipper to do it for two different teams.
Much ahead of the start of the eighteenth edition of the Indian Premier League, Punjab Kings Head Coach Ricky Ponting said that he wanted to achieve something special with the Punjab team, and he has stood true to his words. Shreyas Iyer, alongside Ricky Ponting, has transformed this team into an invincible force, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will have to play a pitch-perfect game in order to beat Punjab and go through to the finals.
Published 29 May 2025 at 17:58 IST