MUMBAI: Shreyas Iyer’s path to India T20 captaincy has been anything but easy. Due to a combination of factors, he has had to prove himself again and again. He has resiliently gone about his job, letting his work speak for itself. In the process, if the India selectors noticed his hard work, it was fine, was his mantra.
Most players would be in the reckoning after one season of leading his side to the title. In Iyer’s case, he wasn’t given enough credit captaining Kolkata Knight Riders to the 2024 IPL title. Instead of getting bogged down, the next season he moved to Punjab Kings and took the team to the final.
This season, Punjab Kings had a great first half but couldn’t sustain it and narrowly missed a playoffs berth. In both seasons, he also made everyone sit up and take note of his ability to lead from the front. In IPL 2025, Shreyas scored 604 runs, following it up with 498 runs in the just-concluded edition. For someone who last played a T20I in 2023, being named captain is a big achievement.
On Sunday, the new India T20 captain was at an event in Mumbai, sharing the stage with former India skipper, Sourav Ganguly. He declared that he intends to lead the national team as he does in IPL.
“Even as I’ve got this job right now, or responsibility as a captain, it’s a great challenge. At the same time, I don’t have to change my personality. I have to be the same person as before and not try to be someone else, or be under someone’s shadow,” Iyer, 31, said.
Ganguly, who was also BCCI president, has seen Iyer’s leadership potential when he impressed as captain of Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) when handed the job midway during the 2018 IPL. Ganguly reminded everyone that Iyer first got the job under him (Ganguly was DC mentor). Retained as full-time captain in 2019, Iyer led Capitals to third place in the points table.
“Shreyas has done well, he has earned it. I would not say that the removal of Suryakumar Yadav is unfair. The selectors have made a decision,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly would be most impressed by Iyer’s resilience. The batter had been out of the India T20 side since 2023. IPL bowling attacks had been targeting him with the short ball, but the Mumbai batter has overcome that weakness and produce strong showings in the last three IPL seasons.
Iyer said his mindset was always about winning. “I loved challenges growing up, especially being from Mumbai, where cricket is pretty big, and competition is high. Every other kid on the street wants to represent Mumbai.
“My mindset was always about winning, against everyone that I challenged,” he said. “The more competitive nature you have, especially while you play cricket or any other sport, the better it is. That takes you to another level, and you want to take that sort of responsibility.”