Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer is known for taking on the spinners early on in his innings, helping relieve pressure off the batting partner. But, against Yash Raj Punja and Ravindra Jadeja he was not as destructive as he could be. With slog overs approaching, PBKS were well below the par score and Iyer was scoring just over a run-a-ball. It led to discussion whether he should've been retired out as Nehal Wadhera and Suryansh Shedge were waiting in the dugout. Former South Africa captain who played the inaugural season for Mumbai Indians (MI) delivered his verdict on the matter. Pollock feels that it would’ve been a ‘brave call’ from head coach Ricky Ponting had it happened.
"It depends on who you have coming in next. If Stoinis had already played two knocks like he did in this game, and he was still to come, you could consider it. But there was no one else down the order who was in better form. It would have been a brave call," Pollock said on Cricbuzz.
Iyer was dismissed on the last ball of the 18th over, taking the aerial route against Nandre Burger. He managed to score 30 runs from 27 balls. Pollock did not doubt Iyer's intent and feels that it was just an off day where he could not get going.
"His intent was there, and he was swinging at times. But he just couldn't get anywhere near the connection he wanted. You have one of these days where you try as hard as you can, but the timing is not on. I wouldn't read too much into it, but it'll be something where he'll look at himself. No one will bring it to his attention, but he'll be conscious of it to ensure he doesn't fall into that trap again," Pollock added.
But, Stoinis made up for it, taking PBKS to a fighting total. He hit Jofra Archer for two sixes in the penultimate over. In the final over, he went berserk, hitting Brijesh Sharma for three fours and two sixes. His unbeaten 22-ball 62 took PBKS to 222/4.
Iyer’s strike rate in IPL 2026
However, strike rate has not been a concern for Iyer in the ongoing season. Despite the 27-ball 30 against RR, his strike rate in IPL 2026 is 174.57. From seven innings, he has scored 309 runs at an average of 61.80, including four half-centuries.