Shreyas Iyer has witnessed a remarkable turnaround in his fortunes since making a comeback for India in the ODI series against England in February. He has made significant contributions with the bat, been brilliantly consistent and has unleashed a more attacking avatar of himself – which was also on display in his two outings for his new franchise – Punjab Kings – in this season's IPL. Shreyas 2.0 is the best version of Shreyas and is emerging to be the biggest match-winner for India and his franchise in white-ball cricket.
A difficult 2024
Shreyas found himself surrounded with controversy in 2024. He was snubbed by the BCCI for missing a domestic match and did not receive a central contract. He was also not considered for the home Test series against England. He played just three ODIs in the calendar year, scoring a total of 38 runs. Shreyas also missed the ship to the Caribbean and was not a part of the victorious Indian contingent at the 2024 T20 World Cup. With no dearth of talent in the country, others moved up in the pecking order and the return for Shreyas seemed tricky and distant.
The silver lining
Shreyas did not have a great run with the bat in IPL 2024. He failed in half the number of innings for Kolkata Knight Riders. But, where Shreyas the batter fell short, Shreyas the leader stepped in. Captaining the franchise, Shreyas led KKR to their third IPL title and their first in over a decade (since 2014)! Under his leadership, the team unleashed a new aggressive and destructive brand of cricket which set a new benchmark not only in the IPL but for T20 cricket itself!
That elevated his brand value and in the IPL 2025 Auctions in Jeddah, Shreyas fetched a whopping INR 26.75 crore from Punjab Kings, making him the second-most expensive player in IPL history!
Shreyas' credentials as a leader were enhanced when he led Mumbai to victory in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in December. He regained some of his mojo with the bat and scored 345 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 188.5 – the second-highest scoring rate amongst all batters who registered a minimum of 300 runs in the competition.
The transformation
Shreyas made a comeback to the Indian team for the ODI series against England in February and made it count and how! Only Shubman Gill had a higher aggregate than Shreyas' 181. More than the runs he scored it was the rate at which he scored them – Shreyas had a strike rate of 123 in the series and was brilliantly consistent. He scored tough runs when the team had lost early wickets without compromising on the scoring rate.
Shreyas hammered a counter-attacking 59 off just 36 deliveries from 19 for 2 in the series opener in Nagpur. He then smashed 78 off 64 deliveries in the third ODI in Ahmedabad putting together a century stand with Gill.
This was a new version of Shreyas. A more confident, aggressive and assured avatar who was as good against pace as against spin. Shreyas played a leading role with the bat in India's magnificent triumph at the 2025 Champions Trophy in UAE/Pakistan. He aggregated 243 runs in five innings including two fifties and two forties. His highest impact knock came against New Zealand when he walked out to bat with his team in big trouble at 22/2 (which soon worsened to 30/3) and scored a breezy 79 off 98 deliveries, top-scoring for India as they stitched together a competitive 249 on a spinner-friendly Dubai wicket.
Shreyas chipped in with a couple of forties at critical junctures both in the semi-final against Australia and final against New Zealand.
While he was always a fine player of spin, Shreyas' batting against pace showed a dramatic improvement in the eight ODI matches he played since his return. He hammered 186 runs off just 141 deliveries at a rate of 132 against the faster bowlers.
IPL 2025 - Leading by example
Punjab Kings has been one of the worst-performing franchises in IPL history. They have not made to the playoffs in the last 10 seasons (since 2014). However, with Shreyas at the helm, 2025 might just be a revolutionary year for the franchise. They got off to a fantastic start smashing 243/5 against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad and it was their new skipper, Shreyas, who led the way with a sensational undefeated 97 off just 42 deliveries – the highlight of his knock being the nine towering sixes. The captain showed the way in the 172-run chase against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow, hammering an unbeaten 52 off just 30 deliveries. LSG gunned down the target in the 17th over with eight wickets in hand. One of the striking features of Shreyas' batting during these two matches has been his control of the pull shot.
He has scored 36 runs off just 13 deliveries playing the pull without being dismissed. Still early days but there seems to be a good vibe around Punjab Kings this time around. If Shreyas can inspire them to the playoffs (and even further), it will be one of ‘the' stories in the league's history.