Shreyas Iyer Creates History; Will Become First Indian Player To...

Punjab Kings (PBKS) confirmed Shreyas Iyer as their new captain going into the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season following their decision to break the bank for the 30-year-old in the mega auction, where they purchased him for a stunning Rs. 26.75 crore.

Shreyas is the second-most expensive purchase in IPL history, only behind Rishabh Pant, who was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for Rs. 27 crore in this season's auction. Shreyas and Pant broke Mitchell Starc's record to become the highest-paid players in the league's history.

When Shreyas leads PBKS in the first match of the 2025 IPL, he will write his name in the history books and become the first Indian player to lead three different IPL teams. The 2024 IPL-winning captain has previously led Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL.

Shreyas will become the fourth player in IPL history to lead three teams after Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Steve Smith. The Indian star is only the second Indian star after Sangakkara to be named a full-time skipper of three franchises.

Sangakkara captained PBKS (2010), Deccan Chargers (2012), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (2013) in his career. Jayawardene led PBKS in one match in 2010 while being full-time captain of Kochi Tuskers in 2011 and DC (then Delhi Daredevils) in 2013. Meanwhile, Smith captained Pune Warriors in one match (2012) before leading Rising Pune Super Giants in the 2017 season after replacing MS Dhoni in the top job. He was also Rajasthan Royals' (RR) captain for 27 matches between 2014 and 2020.

Shreyas is the first IPL-winning captain in history to be released by the franchise in the season after they won the title.

The star batter holds the unique record of being the only captain in history to lead two different teams in an IPL final. Shreyas led DC to their first-ever IPL final in 2020 when they lost to Mumbai Indians (IPL) before captaining KKR to a title win in 2024 after a thumping victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Shreyas has the chance to become the first captain in IPL history to win the title with two different teams. Hardik Pandya is the only captain in the 2025 IPL with the chance to achieve the same feat. PBKS will aim to end a 17-year-old drought and win the title for the first time in history under Shreyas' captaincy.

Shreyas will become the 17th player to lead the Punjab-based franchise. He is their 12th full-time captain after Yuvraj Singh, Sangakkara, Adam Gilchrist, George Bailey, David Miller, Murli Vijay, Glenn Maxwell, Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Shikhar Dhawan.

Delhi Capitals (14) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (14) are the only other IPL team to be led by more than 10 captains.

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