Navjot Singh Sidhu heaps massive praise on Shreyas Iyer for leading PBKS to IPL 2025 final
Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu took centre stage and lauded Shreyas Iyer for propelling Punjab Kings to the final of the ongoing IPL (Indian Premier League) 2025, defeating Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2.
Punjab Kings’ skipper Shreyas Iyer scripted history as he led Punjab Kings to their second IPL final. Doing so, Iyer became the only captain in the history of the IPL to lead three different franchises to the IPL final. (DC, KKR, and PBKS). Aiming to chase down a target of 204 runs in Qualifier 2 of the tournament against Punjab Kings, Iyer put in an excellent performance.
Iyer amassed 87* runs in 41 deliveries, helping Punjab chase down the target, winning the game by five wickets. With the star batter scripting history, former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu took centre stage and lauded Iyer for his captaincy, even drawing comparisons to MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.
"Why is Shreyas Iyer the best? He took Delhi to the playoffs after seven years. He took Delhi to the final after 13 years. He won the Kolkata Knight Riders a final after 10 years. He took Punjab into the playoffs and the final after 11 years. This is not an accident. This is not a coincidence," Sidhu told Star Sports.
"Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni are great captains, but they played with only one army. They didn't do this. They didn't make a team from scratch with ordinary guys, and beat the lions in their own den. The entire world was on one side. However, the Punjabi passion won," he added.
It is interesting to note that Shreyas Iyer was captain when Delhi Capitals went into the IPL final in 2020. Furthermore, he led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title in 2024 and now has made it to the summit clash in the IPL 2025 with Punjab Kings.
Sidhu lauds Iyer’s knock against MI
Not only his leadership skills, Shreyas Iyer has been brilliant with the bat in his hand as well. With 603 runs in 16 innings in the IPL 2025, Iyer is one of the highest run scorers in the tournament, and Sidhu could not help but heap praise on the star batter for his performances.
"A captain is one who leads from the front. The three sixes he hit off Reece Topley's bowling, and after that, sixes were raining. This guy did it single-handedly like a one-man army. Don't forget Ricky Ponting. This is Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya's pairing," Sidhu said.