Forget MS Dhoni, Indian Cricket has a new Mr. Cool in Shreyas Iyer

For the longest time since MS Dhoni’s emergence on the cricket scene, he remained the calmest-headed man the game has seen; sure, there must have been more with similar traits, but it was hard to find one during his playing days. Although past his prime, this quality of his remains intact even to date. However, we have a new contender running for this title, and he is none other than the Indian batter and Punjab Kings captain in the IPL, Shreyas Iyer.

Having led several other IPL teams to finals, including winning one with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last season, Iyer has shown his mettle and appetite to succeed on grander stages. Not disappointing for his new franchise this year – Punjab Kings, Iyer unleashed an array of sixes against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 on Sunday in Ahmedabad to see his team home by five wickets, further helping them qualify for the second IPL final ever.

He came onto bat inside the Powerplay and stood his ground till the end, smashing eight sixes and five fours in his match-winning 41-ball 87*. He hit four of those massive sixes in just one over – the penultimate one to left-arm Ashwini Kumar, sealing a historic run chase in IPL playoffs.

Sticking to his words following his side’s embarrassing eight-wicket loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Qualifier 1, wherein he said, ‘We have lost the battle, but not the war’, Iyer delivered for his team.

"I don't know, to be honest," Iyer said of his demeanour in the post-game chat. “I love big occasions. I say to myself and my colleagues, the bigger the occasion, the calmer you are, and you'll get the best results. Today, I was focusing on my breathing rather than sweating it out.”

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Speaking on how he motivated the group after the Qualifier 1 loss, Iyer said, "All the players need to be assertive. Show intent from ball one. We weren't able to capitalise on the start, but the intent was stupendous. Even for me, when I went out there, I had to take some time, but the batsman at the other end, he was striking pretty well. I know the more time I spend on the field, the better I play, and my vision also gets better."

Meanwhile, Iyer’s no-emotion celebration reminded fans of MS Dhoni, who was known for keeping his cool even in tense situations and later getting the job done for the team.

Iyer's PBKS will face RCB in the IPL 2025 final on Tuesday (June 3) in Ahmedabad.