Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer briefly recalled his recovery from the spleen injury he suffered late last year ahead of IPL 2026.
Shreyas Iyer suffered a spleen injury during the third ODI against Australia in Sydney in October 2025. This injury was serious as he was treated in the ICU but was soon discharged in a few days.
His recovery was not easy and it took two months to return to full physical condition.
“Always challenging to come back from injury”: Shreyas Iyer
Iyer revealed that he lost seven kilograms after the injury and added that it was not easy to get it back.
“Coming back from an injury is always challenging. I lost about 7kg due to the injury, which was a serious injury. Fortunately, I was back in good shape after two months,” Iyer said at the pre-season press conference.
“But it took a lot of effort to gain those 7kg back. I enjoy challenges and that was the one I had to overcome. I’m glad I got through that phase and I’m back representing my team and I also represented India in the previous series,” he added.
The 31-year-old made a competitive comeback in January, playing a couple of matches before featuring for India in their home ODI series against New Zealand. He scored 49 in the first ODI but was dismissed for scores of eight and three in the second and third ODIs respectively.
Subsequently, he also missed out on a place in the Indian squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which the Men in Blue successfully defended.
The Mumbai cricketer admitted that his main focus this season is to help Punjab Kings win their first IPL title. Iyer led Punjab Kings to the final of IPL 2026 where they lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six runs.
Punjab Kings got Iyer for ₹26.75 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction, making him one of the most expensive players in the history of the tournament. He was briefly the most expensive player before Rishabh Pant broke this record after he was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). ₹27 million.
“The expectations are high, which is fun. I love the challenge. But the important thing is that whenever we go into it, we have to win. My eyes are on the trophy,” said the right-handed batsman.
“This is the period when we live as a family for two months,” he added. Iyer enjoyed a productive season with the bat in IPL 2025, amassing 604 runs from 17 matches at a strike rate of 175.07. He scored six half-centuries in the season.
Punjab Kings will open their IPL 2026 season with a match against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Mullanpur on March 31.
