On Sunday, January 12, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan officially announced that star middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer will lead the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).
The official announcement about Shreyas Iyer taking charge of Punjab Kings was made during the Bigg Boss 18 Weekend Ka Vaar, where a few other Punjab Kings players were present.
Also Read: BCCI dissatisfied with Gautam Gambhir’s support staff, likely to take major steps soon
Shreyas Iyer lands on the set of Bigg Boss 18 with Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh
Shreyas Iyer, along with star leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and explosive batsman Shashank Singh, joined Salman Khan for Bigg Boss 18 Weekend Ka Vaar, which aired on January 12.
Bigg Boss is a popular Indian reality television show franchise based on the Dutch reality television show Big Brother. It is produced by Endemol Shine India and currently, the eighteenth season of the show is underway, 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 they also danced together to Bollywood tunes before it was officially announced that Iyer would be the new captain of the Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.
The trio of PBKS cricketers then 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.
Weekend Ka Vaar hoga aur bhi entertaining jab gharwale khelenge cricket match with Punjab Kings players. 🏏
Dekhiye #BiggBoss18 Weekend Ka Vaar Shanivaar at Ravivaar raat 9:30 a.m. @CouleursTV dawn #JioCinema by. pic.twitter.com/ZY1e1RwxAL
– JioCinema (@JioCinema) January 12, 2025
Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh – key players for Punjab Kings
Iyer, Chahal and Shashank are the key players for PBKS, and the trio’s performance will determine the success of the franchise’s season in IPL 2025.
Ahead of the mega auction, the franchise retained explosive hitter Shashank Singh for Rs 5.5 crore along with young keeper-batsman Prabhsimran Singh for Rs 4 crore.
Over the years, PBKS has struggled to find a good captain and has been forced to make many changes within the leadership group. This time, to solve this problem, they entered the auction with a clear mind to sign a reputed captain and managed to buy Shreyas Iyer.
Iyer, who was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after leading them to title victory in IPL 2024, was bought by Punjab Kings for a whopping sum of INR 26.75 crore as they broke their bank for him.
PBKS also went all out for Yuzvendra Chahal in the auction and bought him for INR 18 crore, making him the most expensive spinner in the history of the league.
Punjab Kings look to win IPL under Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting
Punjab Kings have been one of the biggest underachievers in the history of the Indian Premier League. Since the inaugural edition of the IPL, the Punjab-based franchise has seen a mix of ups and downs, with their best performance coming in 2014 when they finished runners-up.
They have been very inconsistent over the years, and the frequent cuts and changes have only made things worse for them. However, with Ricky Ponting at the helm as head coach and Iyer as captain, PBKS would be hoping for a major turnaround and end their trophy drought in IPL 2025.
Notably, they had entered the mega auction with the highest purse of Rs 110.5 crore and had managed to put together a balanced team, including Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera and many more. ‘others.
