Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer is on the verge of a significant personal milestone as he prepares to lead his side against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in Qualifier 2 at Ahmedabad. A victory would not only secure PBKS a spot in the IPL 2025 final but also mark Iyer’s 50th win as an IPL captain, making him just the fifth skipper in league history to achieve this feat.
It’s a “now or never” moment for Iyer and PBKS, who dominated the league stage with nine wins in 13 completed matches. However, their momentum took a hit after a crushing eight-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Qualifier 1. The team will be looking to bounce back strong and set up a rematch with RCB in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Iyer has had a successful captaincy journey across three franchises in the IPL- Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and now PBKS. In his 85 matches as captain, he has won 49 (including two Super Over wins), lost 34, and had two no-result games, giving him a healthy win percentage of over 57%.
With DC, Iyer led the side in 41 matches, winning 23 and losing 18 (win %: 56.09). He also made history in 2020 by taking DC to their first-ever IPL final, where they finished runners-up to MI.
With KKR, Iyer delivered the franchise its first title in a decade last season, winning 17 out of 29 matches (one no-result).
For PBKS, he has so far won 9 out of 15 matches, with one match washed out, holding a 60% win rate this season.
He is also the only captain to lead three different teams to the IPL playoffs and the first to guide two different franchises (KKR and PBKS) to top-of-the-table finishes in back-to-back seasons.
In the history of the IPL, only four captains have reached the 50-win milestone:
MS Dhoni: 136 wins (CSK, Rising Pune Supergiant)
Rohit Sharma: 87 wins (MI)
Virat Kohli: 66 wins (RCB)
Gautam Gambhir: 71 wins (DC, KKR)
Individually, Iyer has also delivered with the bat this season. In 14 matches, he has scored 516 runs at an impressive average of 46.90 and a blazing strike rate of 170.86, including five half-centuries. His top score so far has been an unbeaten *97.
As Iyer leads PBKS into a high-stakes battle against MI, all eyes will be on whether he can notch his 50th IPL win and guide Punjab to their maiden title shot.
