After leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL championship in 2024, former KKR captain Shreyas Iyer felt he was not given enough credit. Even after effectively guiding the team, the franchise did not retain Shreyas; instead, Punjab Kings paid an incredible INR 26.75 crore to acquire his services during the mega auction. He will now be leading PBKS in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Iyer on winning IPL with KKR
"The major focus was to win the IPL, and thankfully, I won it. I personally felt I didn't get the recognition I wanted to after winning the IPL but at the end of the day, as long as you have self integrity and you keep doing the right things when no one is watching, that is more important and that is what I kept doing," he told TOI in an interview.
"When I talk about recognition, it's about getting that respect. It was about the respect for whatever efforts I put on the field. I think sometimes it gets unnoticed but extremely satisfied with the efforts I put in because they weren't easy wickets to bat on," he added.
Iyer also talked about how gratifying the last few months have been for him while playing in international cricket. In the Champions Trophy 2025, he scored 243 runs in five games, with a best score of 79 against New Zealand, demonstrating his ability to play well under duress.
"Extremely satisfying. To be honest, it has been a journey, and I have learnt a lot in this phase of my life, where I got out of the contract after playing the 2023 ODI World Cup. I reassessed where I went wrong, what I should be doing, how well I need to focus on my fitness. I asked myself all these questions, prepared a routine, and started focussing on my training and the skills I added side by side," said Iyer.
"Once I got continuous matches in domestic cricket, I figured out how important fitness was for me, especially when I raised my concerns at the start of the year. Overall I am extremely happy with myself... the way I came out of this, the way I handled the situation and most importantly I believed in myself," he added.