Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer named his favourite player when he served as a ‘ball boy’ in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008.
Bollywood star Preity Zinta co-owned Punjab Kings will have a new skipper in Shreyas Iyer for the IPL 2025 season. India’s highest run-scorer in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 title-winning run was bought for Rs 24.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction last year after leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to victory last season.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, Iyer reminisced about his experience as a ‘ball boy’ during the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede Stadium. The match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was his first close-up experience with the tournament, and he fondly recalled a brief interaction with New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, who was playing for RCB at the time. Iyer picked the New Zealand legend ahead of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag or even Virat Kohli, who were playing IPL back then.
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Superstars’ program, Iyer said, “I grew up playing street cricket and was part of Mumbai’s U-14 team at the time. All of us from the squad were assigned as ball boys, which gave me my first close look at the IPL. I remember being shy and reserved, but my friends were approaching players, so I decided to try too. Ross Taylor was one of my favourites, so I gathered the courage to tell him, ‘Sir, I’m a big fan of yours.’ He was very sweet and thanked me. Back then, it was common for kids to ask for bats or gloves, but I was too shy—even though I really wanted to.”
The first walk! 🔥🦁#ShreyasIyer #PunjabKings #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/SaI6vP4ybN
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 17, 2025
He also recalled a memorable moment with Punjab Kings’ all-rounder Irfan Pathan during the same match. “I vividly remember Irfan Pathan standing at long-on. He sat next to us and asked if we were enjoying the game. We told him we were having a great time and were thrilled to meet him. At that time, Irfan bhai was a huge star, and Punjab Kings had some of the most good-looking players, including Yuvi pa (Yuvraj Singh). It’s a memory that has stayed with me for years.”
Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title last year — their first in a decade — and previously guided Delhi Capitals to the finals, now aims to create a similar impact with PBKS. The team will begin their campaign against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium on March 25.
Since making his IPL debut in 2015, Iyer has accumulated 3,127 runs at an average of 32.23 and a strike rate of 127.47, including 21 half-centuries, with a highest score of 96. In his debut season with Delhi Capitals, he was named ‘Emerging Player’ after scoring 439 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33.77, with four fifties.
Iyer first stepped into a leadership role with DC in 2018 and led them to the finals in 2020, where they finished as runners-up to Mumbai Indians. In 2022, he moved to KKR and, under the mentorship of Gautam Gambhir, led them to the IPL 2024 title.
