IPL 2025: Gavaskar slams KKR for not giving credit to their ex-skipper Shreyas Iyer despite 2024 title win
Sunil Gavaskar criticized Kolkata Knight Riders for not giving Shreyas Iyer enough credit for leading them to the 2024 IPL title.
FollowFormer batting legend and captain turned cricket commentator Sunil Gavaskar slammed Kolkata Knight Riders for not giving due recognition to their former skipper Shreyas Iyer, who led the side to their third IPL title in 2024.
Under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, Kolkata Knight Riders finally put an end to their 10-year IPL title drought by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. It was the first IPL title for Shreyas as a captain. Despite captaining KKR to their IPL title win, the franchise released Shreyas Iyer to the auction pool while retaining Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, and Ramandeep Singh.
At the IPL 2025 Auction, Kolkata Knight Riders bid for their winning captain but they backed out at INR 10 crore. Eventually, Shreyas Iyer was snapped by Punjab Kings for a whopping INR 26.75 crore, making him the second-most expensive player in the history of IPL after Rishabh Pant, who was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for INR 27 crore.
Also read: IPL 2025: PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer lauds team's execution after dominant win over LSG
Sunil Gavaskar slams KKR
Former India captain, who is part of the commentary panel for the IPL 2025, expressed his disappointment over Kolkata Knight Riders for not giving credit to Shreyas Iyer. Speaking on air during the IPL 2025 clash between Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings, Gavaskar stated that Shreyas did not get the recognition he deserves while hailing his captaincy as ‘impressive’.
“Shreyas was the captain of the KKR side that won in 2024 and I believe that he did not get the credit that he deserved. His captaincy record is quite impressive," Gavaskar said in commentary.
Shreyas Iyer played for Kolkata Knight Riders for three IPL seasons from 2022 to 2024. He was appointed as the captain of the side in 2022. Iyer had two unsuccessful stints as KKR skipper before he led the team to IPL title in 2024. He was the leading run-getter for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022, amassing 401 runs in 14 matches.
The Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to release Shreyas Iyer ahead of the IPL 2025 Auction left the fans surprised. It was reported that the money factor was the reason behind Iyer’s departure from the franchise. After Shreyas Iyer left KKR, the franchise picked Ajinkya Rahane as their captain for the ongoing IPL 2025.
Punjab Kings off to a great start under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy
After Punjab Kings decided to appoint Shreyas Iyer as their captain, the team had a great start to their campaign. In their opening match, Punjab Kings registered their first win of the season with a thrilling 11-run win over Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
This was followed by their second consecutive win of the season with a dominant 8-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday. With two consecutive wins of the IPL 2025, Punjab Kings moved to second place on the IPL 2025 points table with four points and has a net run rate (NRR) of +1.485.
Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer is in incredible form as he is currently the second-leading run-getter of the season, with 149 runs, including two fifties, at an impressive strike rate of 206.94. He has yet to remain out in the season so far.
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