"Shreyas Didn't...": Gavaskar's Explosive KKR Comment A Dig At Gambhir?

Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar feels Shreyas Iyer didn't get enough credit for leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) title. Despite leading KKR to their third IPL title, Shreyas was released by KKR ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, where he was picked up by the Punjab Kings (PBKS). KKR's success was largely attributed to mentor Gautam Gambhir, but Gavaskar feels it's the captain who deserves much of the credit instead of someone sitting in the dugout. Apart from his captaincy, Shreyas scored 351 runs from 14 innings at an average of 39 and with two fifties.

"He didn't get the credit for the IPL victory last season. All the plaudits were given to someone else. It's the captain, who plays a major role in what's happening in the middle and not someone sitting in the dugout," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

This year, under Shreyas, PBKS are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs. The team last finished in the top four back in 2014, eventually losing to KKR in the final.

Gavaskar is glad to see Shreyas getting all the praise this season, instead of PBKS head coach Rickey Ponting.

"See, this year he's getting fair credit. No one is giving all the credit to Ricky Ponting," he added.

Shreyas was acquired by PBKS in last year's mega auction for a whopping Rs 26.75 crore. So far, PBKS' move to break their bank for Iyer has paid off - the right-handed batter has amassed 405 runs in 11 games at an average of 50.63, including hitting four fifties.

As a captain, and having Ricky Ponting in the dugout as their head coach, Iyer has been astute and proactive in his leadership, resulting in PBKS being on 15 points in third place in the points table. The side needs two wins out of their three remaining games to seal a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 IPL.

Iyer and coach Ponting had worked together at Delhi Capitals previously, where they managed to enter the playoffs in the 2019 season, before becoming runners-up in the 2020 edition. Now reunited at the PBKS set-up, the Iyer-Ponting partnership has resurrected the side's fortunes in such a brilliant fashion that they are now on the verge of entering the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

(With IANS Inputs)

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