He has been going through a purple patch having won the IPL 2024, SMAT 2024 and Champions Trophy 2025.
Former Mumbai Indians (MI) batters Siddharth Kaul and Aditya Tare were full of praise for their domestic teammate Shreyas Iyer. They hailed the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) captain as someone who ‘always delivered the goods’ for the team.
Shreyas, who had recently captained Mumbai to the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, had played a pivotal role in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 triumph with 243 runs from five matches. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, he made the move to Punjab Kings for INR 26.75 crore after captaining Kolkata Knight Riders to their third title in 2024.
The Mumbai batter began IPL 2025 superbly. He slammed an unbeaten 97 from 42 balls in PBKS’ first match against Gujarat Titans (GT), leading them to an 11-run victory.
Lad has played with Shreyas for a long time in domestic cricket. He lavished praise on the right-hander’s aggressive ability while pointing to a game against Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.
“Shreyas has immense self-confidence. Mumbai were facing Bengal at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens in a Ranji Trophy match back in the 2014/15 season of the tournament, which marked Shreyas’ maiden first-class season. The Bengal bowling attack was quite impressive and formidable in nature. In such a situation, the team needed a cricketer to step up and bat at the number three position. Shreyas volunteered to take up the responsibility despite being unfamiliar with the role, having batted at the number four and number five positions till that point,” Lad told Times of India in an interview.
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Shreyas scored 153 off 175 balls while batting at No.3 against a bowling line-up that had Ashok Dinda, Suvojit Banerjee, Veer Pratap Singh, and Laxmi Ratan Shukla.
Mumbai teammate and former MI batter Aditya Tare also praised Shreyas for taking the challenging route during a dire situation.
“Shreyas has always been a cricketer who is aggressive in his approach and eager to deliver the goods. I distinctly remember a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh where I was a little tense about the eventual target. Shreyas came to me and said, ‘Don’t worry. We will chase down whatever is necessary to pull off a win’,” Tare said.
The 30-year-old is currently going through a purple patch. His innings against GT earned high praise from former Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson. He described it as ‘every ball is a highlights reel’.
Shreyas’ childhood coach Pravin Amre said that T20s have always been the best format for him given his approach to every innings.
“T20 cricket is anyway a format which has always suited him, considering his approach which is full of intent,” Amre said.
After the big win against GT, PBKS will take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on Monday.
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