Admitting that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a costly call by releasing Shreyas Iyer after a title-winning season in IPL 2024, former KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit said, “Unfortunately, we missed him.”Pandit, who was the head coach of KKR when the franchise released Iyer, was mulling a move after the batsman’s strong run with the Punjab Kings. Since joining Punjab for Rs 26.75 crore, Iyer has led the team to the finals of IPL 2025 and PBKS have also remained unbeaten in their first six matches of the IPL 2026 season.“Unfortunately, we missed him,” Pandit told RevSportz on Iyer, who joined PBKS for Rs 26.75 crore in the pre-IPL 2025 mega auction.“Shreyas is a great player who has won a trophy for KKR as captain and I admire the way he has handled the team. But sometimes certain circumstances and wider strategies force you to let such players go. As a coach at KKR, of course I felt bad about it. It was not a deliberate omission but things just didn’t work out for us. Not only I feel the same way about Phil Shreya and others.”The veteran coach was part of the IPL 2024 winning setup for KKR along with Shreyas and mentor Gautam Gambhir.Pandit also spoke about Iyer’s absence from the Indian T20I side. He said strong competition for places often leads to such decisions.“Shreyas was part of the Indian team and performed strongly. Unfortunately, he was left out, but situations like this are not uncommon. In building a team, it is always a challenge to find a balance between experience and the need to nurture new talent. With the depth of talent available, it is difficult to provide opportunities to every deserving player.”“There is always competition and equally capable replacements are often available. That said, Shreyas leads Punjab impressively and his batting reflects a noticeable maturity. He plays with a fearless mindset, focusing less on the situation and more on winning the game, which is evident in the way he constructs his innings,” added the 64-year-old.
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Which aspect of Iyer stands out the most?
Iyer has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the last two seasons of the IPL. He scored 208 runs in five innings that year at an average of 52 and a strike rate of 182.45.
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