Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has endorsed Shreyas Iyer as one of the best captains in IPL history and said the Punjab Kings skipper could even surpass legends like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir if he manages to win another IPL title with another franchise.
In an interview with JioHotstar, Pathan praised Iyer’s remarkable consistency as a leader across franchises and highlighted how the stylish right-hander has achieved something that no other captain in the history of the tournament has been able to do — take three different teams to the IPL finals.
“Shreyas Iyer, who took three franchises to the finals and won them with KKR. One more trophy; if he wins it with Punjab, he will surpass them all,” Pathan said.
Pathan highlighted that Iyer’s success as captain becomes even more significant as he has adapted to completely different team environments, dressing rooms and cultures while continuing to produce results.
“In that list of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir, I feel Shreyas Iyer has to be among the best captains. It’s not easy to get three different franchises to the final. Every franchise is different; their culture, set-up and mindset is completely different. To adapt to those things and then lead the way forward is not easy.” Pathan never did.
The former India all-rounder also compared Iyer to some of the IPL’s most decorated captains, pointing out that Dhoni, Rohit and Gambhir achieved most of their title-winning success with a single franchise.
“MS Dhoni won all five trophies with CSK and it’s not like he didn’t play for any other franchise. Similarly, Rohit Sharma won all his trophies as captain with MI and Gautam Gambhir did it for KKR in these two seasons,” he said.
Iyer’s rise as a leader has been one of the standout stories of recent IPL seasons. After Delhi Capitals took the Mumbai batter to their first IPL final of 2020 ended Kolkata Knight Riders’ long wait for the title by leading them to the championship in 2024. He then continued his impressive captaincy run by leading the Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final in their first season under him, though the side eventually lost the title match to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Punjab Kings have once again emerged as one of the strongest teams this season under Iyer’s leadership. The team currently sits at the top of the IPL points table with 13 points from nine matches and looks firmly on course for the playoffs.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
06 May 2026 20:08 IST
