Six months ago, Shreyas Iyer suffered a ruptured spleen while going for a difficult catch. He managed to complete the take and dismiss Alex Carey, but the injury ruled him out for the next two months. Fortunately, the damage was not severe enough to derail his year completely, and he returned in time for the ODI assignment against New Zealand in January.
Back in action, Iyer showed early signs of rhythm with knocks of 49, 8 and 3. Those modest scores still offered a glimpse of what was to come, and he has now chosen the 2026 Indian Premier League stage to underline why he should not be underestimated. With India hunting for their next T20I captain, Iyer’s timing couldn’t be more aligned with the moment.
Quick facts
- Injury: Shreyas Iyer ruptured his spleen while attempting a tough catch, costing him two months.
- Return: He recovered in time for the ODI series versus New Zealand in January.
- January ODI scores: 49, 8 and 3.
- Recent IPL form: 50, 69* and 66 in his last three innings.
- Impact on PBKS: His presence has helped Punjab Kings climb to the top of the points table.
- PBKS deal: He was picked for ₹26.75 lakh at the IPL 2025 mega-auction.
- IPL trajectory: PBKS reached the final last year; a PBKS vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru repeat is possible.
On the IPL front, Iyer has started like a man writing his own script. Scores of 50, 69* and 66 in his last three innings have powered a fast start to his campaign, and Punjab Kings have surged to the summit of the points table. The numbers are loud, but they are only part of the story.
Beyond the runs, Iyer’s arrival has clearly shifted the franchise’s momentum. For years, Punjab Kings often looked like just another side, but the change has been dramatic since he was brought into the squad in the IPL 2025 mega-auction for ₹26.75 lakh. The team also reached the final last season, and while this season is still in its early phases, there is no guarantee the finale won’t once again feature Punjab Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
That combination—batting quality, proven leadership in IPL settings, and a calm, steely temperament—makes Iyer hard to ignore. It also raises a sharper question: why does the Indian setup still not give him a more permanent role in the ODI and T20I teams? ODIs, at least, have seen him included at times. But for a player who has won the IPL and finished as runner-up twice, his relative absence from T20I captaincy plans looks confusing.
World Cup run and the “captaincy gap”
Iyer is also the same batter who played a major part in India’s 2023 World Cup push. He amassed 530 runs in 11 matches, landing as the fourth-highest run-scorer in that single edition. Only Virat Kohli (765), Sachin Tendulkar (673 in 2003) and Rohit Sharma (648 in 2019) finished above him in the tournament totals.
He may not be producing the exact kind of numbers Kohli did during his peak, but he carries a similar gravitas. Kohli was the face of Indian cricket for a generation—his aggression, technical authority and overall star power elevated everything around him. Iyer might not match Kohli’s statistical ceiling, yet his character, leadership habits and captaincy instincts have often looked stronger than what India’s current hierarchy seems to be leaning on with Shubman Gill.
And if injuries are part of the debate, Gill has had his own setbacks. A prolonged neck problem forced him to miss the South Africa ODI matches as well as Tests. In that context, it may be time for the BCCI to move away from a narrow fixation on one captain across all formats. The more realistic approach today would be having separate leaders for ODIs and T20Is, while Tests can follow a different plan entirely.
If Gill is not available or not fitting into the T20I brief, then the next logical step is to place that responsibility on Iyer. There appears to be little reason to keep him on the sidelines when the role he is capable of handling is right there.
How the leadership plan was supposed to work
Back in 2019, India’s succession planning was aimed at grooming Iyer to be the next captain. After India’s World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand, Kohli and the then management wanted to develop Iyer as the future skipper. Even though options like Ambati Rayudu, Vijay Shankar and Rishabh Pant were tried at No. 4, Iyer was widely seen as the strongest candidate—especially after he lit up the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
For Mumbai, he scored 373 runs in seven matches and emerged as the team’s leading run-getter. He also toured New Zealand in 2020, producing knocks of 62, 52 and 103 across Mount Maunganui, Auckland and Hamilton. Throughout his career, Iyer’s contributions can sometimes be scattered, but they have repeatedly arrived in high-pressure moments—such as his century on Test debut and the 87 he made in Mirpur to help rescue India against Bangladesh.
When Iyer was left out of India’s Asia Cup squad last year, the reaction was immediate and intense. Ajit Agarkar’s selection panel faced heavy questions from fans and former players alike, and the criticism wasn’t hard to understand. Here was an IPL-winning captain who followed that up with another runner-up finish. T20 cricket is not only about accumulating runs; it is also about lifting teammates, creating bursts of brilliance, and providing consistency—traits Iyer has shown repeatedly, including just last evening.
Right now, Iyer is red-hot and fully in his zone. This is the phase where the BCCI must act—particularly for T20Is, where a change in captaincy feels due. With Shubman Gill not currently part of India’s T20I setup, and with the long-ago drop of Hardik Pandya from the immediate conversation, plus Suryakumar Yadav already at 35 and not consistently supplying enough runs, the pathway for succession is open and ready.
If not now, then when?
