Shreyas Iyer's Potential as PBKS Captain: Robin Uthappa's Bold Prediction

Team India standout Shreyas Iyer made headlines by becoming the second-highest paid player in Indian Premier League auction history, securing a whopping INR 26.75 crore deal with the Punjab Kings. Initially, the record was held by Mitchell Starc at INR 24.75 crore, but it was quickly eclipsed by Rishabh Pant who fetched an astonishing INR 27 crore from the Lucknow Super Giants.

Iyer, thus, joins a franchise that is yet to lift an IPL title; interestingly, the India star captained Kolkata Knight Riders to title finish in the 2024 season. Former India batter Robin Uthappa has expressed hope that Iyer repeats a similar performance with the Kings, and made a rather bold prediction on the batter, should he succeed in bringing silverware for the struggling franchise.

“He is going from a championship-winning team to a team that has not won any titles. That will be a nice challenge for him. If he can go there and win a title, I have no doubt that he is going to be the next Indian captain,” Uthappa said on JioCinema.

Iyer is currently not a part of the Indian T20I setup, losing his place in the side last year. In fact, the batter is only an ODI regular, which makes Uthappa's claim all the more significant. Iyer returned to contention for the Team India squad in August after he was controversially removed from BCCI's central contracts list earlier this year.

With his move to Punjab Kings, Iyer will reunite with Ricky Ponting, who was his head coach during the former's time at Delhi Capitals. Iyer was DC's captain when the side reached the final of the 2021 season, where it faced a defeat to Mumbai Indians.

While Ponting didn't divulge details about PBKS' potential captain for the 2025 season, it is expected that Iyer will lead the side, thanks to his impressive credentials in the role. In addition to leading the KKR to the title last season, Iyer was also important with the bat; he played at a strike rate of over 146 throughout the season.