On Sunday, January 12, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan officially announced that middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer will lead Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).
The official announcement regarding Shreyas Iyer taking over the management of Punjab Kings was made on Bigg Boss 18 Weekend Ka Vaar where several Punjab Kings players were also present.
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Shreyas Iyer lands on the sets of Bigg Boss 18 along with Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh
Shreyas Iyer along with star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and explosive batsman Shashank Singh joined Salman Khan for Bigg Boss 18 Weekend Ka Vaar which aired on 12th January.
Bigg Boss is a popular Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show Big Brother. It is produced by Endemol Shine India and is currently in its eighteenth season, hosted by Salman Khan for the fifteenth time.
Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh were seen having fun with Salman Khan on stage and dancing together to Bollywood tunes before it was officially announced that Iyer will be the new captain of Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.
The trio of PBKS cricketers further entered the Bigg Boss house and a mini-cricket match was played between Team Shreyas and Team Yuzi. Iyer's team consisted of Rajat Dalal and Vivian Dsena, while Karan Veer Mehra joined Shashank Singh in Yuzvendra Chahal's team.
The Ka Vaar weekend will be even more fun when Gharwale will play a cricket match with the Punjab Kings players.
View #BiggBoss18 Saturdays and weekend Sundays at 9:30 p.m @ColorsTV gold #JioCinema para. pic.twitter.com/ZY1e1RwxAL
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) January 12, 2025
Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh – Key Players of Punjab Kings
Iyer, Chahal and Shashank are the key players for PBKS and the trio's performance will determine how successful the franchise's season will be in IPL 2025.
Before the mega auction, the franchise had retained explosive batsman Shashank Singh for Rs 5.5 crore along with young batsman Prabhsimran Singh for Rs 4 crore.
Over the years, PBKS have struggled to find a good captain and have been forced to make many changes in the leadership group. This time, to fix this problem, they went into the auction with a clear mind to go with a reputed captain and managed to buy Shreyas Iyer.
Iyer, who was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after leading them to the title win in IPL 2024, was bought by Punjab Kings for ₹26.75 crore as they broke the bank for him.
PBKS went all out for Yuzvendra Chahal in the auction and bought him for INR 18 million, making him the most expensive spinner in the history of the league.
Punjab Kings are looking to win the IPL under Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting
Punjab Kings have been one of the greatest performers in the history of the Indian Premier League. Since the inaugural edition of the IPL, the Punjab-based franchise has experienced a mix of highs and lows, with their best performance coming in 2014 when they finished runners-up.
They have been very inconsistent over the years and the frequent chopping and changing has only made things worse for them. However, with Ricky Ponting at the helm as head coach and Iyer as captain, PBKS would have been hoping for a turnaround and end their trophy drought in IPL 2025.
Remarkably, they went into the mega auction with the highest purse of Rs 110.5 crore and managed to field a balanced team, lining up with the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera and many others.