{"id":4339,"date":"2026-04-22T02:22:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/zaheer-khan-urges-shreyas-iyer-to-stake-claim-as-next-india-captain"},"modified":"2026-04-22T02:22:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:22:51","slug":"zaheer-khan-urges-shreyas-iyer-to-stake-claim-as-next-india-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/zaheer-khan-urges-shreyas-iyer-to-stake-claim-as-next-india-captain","title":{"rendered":"Zaheer Khan Urges Shreyas Iyer to Stake Claim as Next India Captain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Shreyas Iyer is back in the spotlight after another captaincy masterclass with Punjab Kings. Under his leadership, PBKS reached the franchise\u2019s first IPL final in 11 years in 2025, only to fall short against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Now, in the 2026 season, the Punjab outfit has kept rolling and is unbeaten through the first six matches.<\/p>\n<p>With the team\u2019s momentum has come renewed debate around Iyer\u2019s role beyond franchise cricket. The conversation has stretched from whether he should be considered for India\u2019s T20I plans to whether he could one day be handed the national captaincy in the shortest format. Yet even with the speculation growing, the focus is still shifting back to fundamentals.<\/p>\n<h3>Quick facts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Shreyas Iyer captained Punjab Kings to their first IPL final in 11 years in 2025.<\/li>\n<li>In that 2025 final, PBKS lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.<\/li>\n<li>Punjab Kings are unbeaten after six matches in the 2026 IPL season.<\/li>\n<li>Zaheer Khan urged Iyer to stay focused on his own performances rather than captaincy talk.<\/li>\n<li>Iyer was not part of India\u2019s T20 World Cup-winning squad earlier this year in March 2026.<\/li>\n<li>On Sunday, PBKS beat Lucknow Super Giants by 54 runs in Mullanpur.<\/li>\n<li>PBKS made 254\/7, the highest team total of the IPL season so far.<\/li>\n<li>Priyansh Arya scored 93 and Cooper Connolly scored 87.<\/li>\n<li>A 182-run partnership came for the second wicket in just 13.2 overs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan has cautioned Iyer against getting distracted by leadership speculation. In March 2026, Iyer was not included in India\u2019s squad that won the T20 World Cup, and Zaheer believes the immediate goal should be returning to the national setup through performances.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Cricbuzz, Zaheer said that being part of the T20I environment will naturally be at the forefront of Iyer\u2019s mind. He suggested that captaincy discussions may not be the priority right now, but noted that Iyer has already shown he can guide franchises and that success has been part of his leadership track record.<\/p>\n<p>Zaheer added that when you look at India\u2019s T20 pathway, the first requirement is making an impact purely as a player to earn a place in the squad. Once a player is inside the group, he said, further decisions\u2014such as leadership roles\u2014depend on how the team management views the situation.<\/p>\n<h3>PBKS power past LSG in Mullanpur<\/h3>\n<p>On Sunday, PBKS produced a statement performance in Mullanpur, defeating Lucknow Super Giants by 54 runs. The win underlined how Punjab\u2019s batting has been firing under Iyer\u2019s watch, with the pair of Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly setting the tone.<\/p>\n<p>Arya struck 93 and Connolly made 87 as PBKS posted 254\/7, which also became the highest total of the ongoing IPL season. The chase never truly got going for LSG, leaving the hosts to secure a comfortable margin after building a massive platform.<\/p>\n<p>After the match, Iyer praised the partnership and the execution across phases. He highlighted the way the batters hit quickly against pace, including shots driven from the back foot, and he also pointed to the composure shown in the middle overs.<\/p>\n<p>Iyer also shared a moment from the dugout, saying he had spoken with Cooper and Arya about competing for the most number of sixes. He explained that while the \u201cprize\u201d of his bat may not have made perfect sense, the idea was to let the players express themselves\u2014and the duo delivered.<\/p>\n<p>Arya and Connolly, for their part, credited the approach of staying loose and trusting instincts. Their second-wicket stand of 182 runs came in only 13.2 overs, turning the game into a highlight reel and giving PBKS the kind of total that typically decides matches in T20 cricket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shreyas Iyer is back in the spotlight after another captaincy masterclass with Punjab Kings. Under his leadership, PBKS reached the franchise\u2019s first IPL final in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Zaheer Khan Pushes Shreyas Iyer as Next India Captain","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Zaheer Khan backs Shreyas Iyer to press his claim for India captaincy after PBKS\u2019 dominant run\u2014can he take the next step in IPL 2026?","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Zaheer Khan Pushes Shreyas Iyer as Next India Captain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zaheer Khan backs Shreyas Iyer to press his claim for India captaincy after PBKS\u2019 dominant 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