“Didn’t Get the Recognition I Wanted”: Shreyas Iyer on IPL 2024 Win with KKR

Shreyas Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last season as a captain, has made shocking remarks on the franchise ahead of IPL 2025, saying that he did not get the recognition he wanted after leading the franchise to the title. Notably, the 30-year-old was bought by Punjab Kings ahead of the upcoming season after KKR didn’t retain the title-winning captain.

“Didn’t Get the Recognition I Wanted”: Shreyas Iyer on IPL 2024 Win with KKR

In an interview with TOI, Shreyas Iyer talked about IPL with KKR, “The major focus was to win the IPL, and thankfully, I won it. I personally felt I didn’t get the recognition I wanted to after winning the IPL, but at the end of the day, as long as you have self-integrity and you keep doing the right things when no one is watching, that is more important, and that is what I kept doing. When I talk about recognition, it’s about getting that respect. It was about the respect for whatever efforts I put on the field. I think sometimes it goes unnoticed, but I am extremely satisfied with the efforts I put in because they weren’t easy wickets to bat on.”

“Extremely satisfying. To be honest, it has been a journey, and I have learned a lot in this phase of my life, where I got out of the contract after playing the 2023 ODI World Cup. I reassessed where I went wrong, what I should be doing, and how well I need to focus on my fitness. I asked myself all these questions, prepared a routine, and started focusing on my training and the skills I added side by side,” said Iyer. Once I got continuous matches in domestic cricket, I figured out how important fitness was for me, especially when I raised my concerns at the start of the year. Overall I am extremely happy with myself… the way I came out of this, the way I handled the situation, and most importantly, I believed in myself,” he added. 

The right-handed batter played 29 matches for KKR, scoring 752 runs, including five half-centuries, and led the team to the title in IPL 2024. Notably, he is also the highest run getter for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 with 243 runs in 5 matches. 

Shreyas Iyer bought by Punjab Kings for INR 26.75 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Now he will lead the franchise in the upcoming season set to kick off on 22 March.