'Felt underappreciated,' Ex-player on why PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer left KKR despite winning IPL 2024

Former India player Robin Uthappa believes that Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer was 'underappreciated' at his previous team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The statement comes a day after Punjab finished as the table toppers of IPL 2025 and secured a place in Qualifier 1.

"Shreyas has always been an exceptional captain. You always sensed that he felt underappreciated at KKR despite adding value there," Uthappa said while talking to JioHotstar. "He moved to a franchise where not much had been achieved historically, and then went on to win it for them. That says a lot about his leadership and belief," he added.

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Iyer has led from the front in the season, scoring 514 runs in 14 games - the most for PBKS - at an average of 51 and a strike rate of 172. He has scored five fifties in the season as well.

Punjab, under skipper Iyer, finished the season with 19 points from nine wins, one no result and four losses out of 14 games played. They lost the last match by six wickets against DC and looked to lose momentum at the wrong time but the win against a resurgent MI gives them confidence going into the playoffs.

"You want momentum at the right point in the tournament and the right kind of impetus going into the play-offs. Punjab started the tournament exceptionally well, lost a bit of steam towards the back end of the league stage, but regained momentum just before the play-offs," said Uthappa.

"Granted, they're losing a player or two to national duty, but even within the squad, the batting line-up looks really solid. For me, Arshdeep Singh hasn't quite fired yet, and that actually augurs well for Punjab. It means he's due for a big performance and will be raring to go in crucial games," he added.