"He is the 17th captain and the 18th season is about to start" - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer's appointment as Punjab Kings captain for IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Shreyas Iyer has joined the huge list of Punjab Kings (PBKS) captains in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he added that it was known after the auction that the IPL 2024 winning captain will skipper the Punjab-based franchise in the upcoming season.

PBKS outbid the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) to acquire Shreyas for ₹26.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. The IPL 2014 runners-up recently announced the Mumbaikar as their captain for the 18th edition of the prestigious league.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener pointed out that Shreyas will become the Punjab Kings' 17th captain.

"Shreyas Iyer has become the Punjab Kings' captain. He is the 17th captain and the 18th season is about to start in a couple of months. However, let's be fair, it was already known," he said (0:01).

Chopra opined that it was virtually confirmed that the right-handed batter would captain PBKS once he was acquired for an exorbitant sum.

"When the auction was happening and it was going beyond ₹25 crore, you said it was done. You spend that much money only for the captain and not for anyone else. So if you spent that much money, Shreyas Iyer had to be the captain. There was no doubt about that," he explained.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that DC and KKR were also keen to acquire Shreyas' services, as they needed a captain.

"Delhi ran after him for a long time because I think they had promised him that they would make him the captain and asked him to come out of KKR. It seemed like KKR, since they had won, might also spend a lot of money to actually hold on to Shreyas Iyer, and might have realized later that they didn't get a captain," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra acknowledged that one among Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer could be the KKR captain in IPL 2025. However, he added that the defending champions could have struck a deal with Shreyas to retain him as the captain ahead of the auction.

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"Shreyas Iyer has become the first Indian who will captain three different franchises" - Aakash Chopra

Shreyas Iyer led the Delhi Capitals to the IPL 2020 final. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Shreyas Iyer will achieve a unique feat once he captains the Punjab Kings, although KL Rahul would also have that record if he leads the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025.

"Shreyas Iyer has become the first Indian who will captain three different franchises. He has captained two and will captain the third - Delhi, Kolkata and Punjab. That's another history he has created," he said (2:45).

The analyst added that PBKS having 17 captains in 18 IPL seasons is not a great record.

"17 captains in 18 seasons - it is a very bad sort of record. It seems okay at the start and then you feel there is some problem. Why do these marriages not last for long? Sometimes the captain wants to leave and they sack the captain on other occasions. The coaches are sacked at times. There is plenty that keeps happening in Punjab," Chopra observed.

However, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that PBKS play an entertaining brand of cricket. He added that the franchise also has a good bowling attack this season, with Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal having been acquired for ₹18 crore apiece.