Shreyas Iyer Joins Ajinkya Rahane In Elite List, Becomes 5th Player In IPL History To...
Shreyas Iyer becomes the second Indian and fifth overall player in history to lead three or more IPL teams.
Star Indian batter Shreyas Iyer, who is leading Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 match on Tuesday (March 25) against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, joined Ajinkya Rahane in an elite list. The 30-year-old right-handed batter from Mumbai becomes only the fifth player in IPL history to lead three teams.
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Before making his PBKS captaincy debut in the IPL on Tuesday, Iyer has led Delhi Capitals in 41 IPL matches across three seasons and KKR in 29 matches. He is the only captain in IPL history to play in the final with two teams.
A total of four players – Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Steve Smith and Rahane – in the past have served as captains of three teams in the IPL. Sangakkara captained Punjab Kings in 13 matches of the 2010 season, Deccan Chargers in 25 matches and Sunrisers Hyderabad in nine matches of the 2013 season.
Players to captain three teams in IPL
- Kumar Sangakkara – Punjab Kings (13), Deccan Chargers (25), Sunrisers Hyderabad (9)
- Mahela Jayawardene – Punjab Kings (1), Kochi Tuskers Kerala (13), Delhi Capitals (16)
- Steve Smith – Pune Warriors India (1), Rising Pune Super Giants (15), Rajasthan Royals (27)
- Ajinkya Rahane – Rising Pune Supergiants (1), Rajasthan Royals (24), Kolkata Knight Riders (1)
- Shreyas Iyer – Delhi Captials (41), Kolkata Knight Riders (29), Punjab Kings (1)*
Former Australian captain Smith led Pune Warriors India in one match of IPL 2012, Rajasthan Royals in 27 matches and Rising Pune Super Giants in 15 matches. On the other hand, Jayawardene led Punjab Kings in one match of IPL 2010, Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 13 matches of IPL 2011 and Delhi Capitals in 16 matches across two seasons (IPL 2012 and 2013).
Rahane led Rising Pune Super Giants in one match of IPL 2017 and Rajasthan Royals in 24 matches across two seasons (2018, 2019). He played his first match as KKR captain on Saturday (March 22) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens.
Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (C), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
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