Former India great gives massive verdict on Shreyas Iyer's India captaincy narrative

As a player and captain, Shreyas Iyer has performed brilliantly for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Under his able leadership, PBKS has entered the final of IPL 2025. Now, Iyer is the only captain in the history of the cash-rich league to have led three different teams to the final. Shreyas first led Delhi Capitals to their first-ever final in 2020 and he then took Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in 2024.

Many experts and several fans are of the view that Iyer will lead the Indian team across various formats in future.

In response, former India great Sunil Gavaskar feels that one needs to support Shubman Gill, who has just been made the Test captain and there is no need to create pressure by constantly namedropping Iyer.

Must Read: IPL 2025: All you need to know about prize money

"If Iyer is worthy of being the captain or not, we first need to look at Shubman Gill, who is the Test captain. We need to give him opportunities. If we talk about such things, then we are creating undue pressure on Shubman Gill," said Gavaskar.

"There is no need to create pressure on Shubman Gill before the England tour. You first need to realise that Shreyas Iyer is not even in the Indian team. There should be no talk about him being made the next Indian captain," he further said.

"When Iyer makes a return to the side then you can have a look at whether he can be made the captain or not. We need to show tremendous confidence in Shubman Gill, who has just been made the Test captain. He is our India captain. You shouldn't create doubts in his mind, there should be no pressure on him. You shouldn't create pressure, saying, 'Oh look, there is Shreyas Iyer'," he added.