“Shreyas Iyer will have a point to prove” – Gavaskar on PBKS captain facing KKR at Eden Gardens

Shreyas Iyer scored a 2-ball duck against KKR in Mullanpur in what was the first time he faced his old team after being released.

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have three Indian Premier League (IPL) titles to their name: 2012, 2014 and 2024. And the guy to end their 10-year gap between trophies, Shreyas Iyer, will face them today at their home ground, Eden Gardens. He was their permanent captain from 2022 to 2024 and could have joined Gautam Gambhir as their greatest-ever skipper.

What happened between Shreyas Iyer and KKR

However, just 6 months after getting KKR their 3rd IPL trophy, he was released by the franchise. The move was perplexing. Reports suggested that Shreyas asked for an exorbitant amount of money, and KKR decided to let them go. No one can know what truly happened.

But Shreyas didn’t like the way he was treated. “We had a conversation straight after the IPL championship, and I was optimistic about staying. But for months, there was no concrete discussion. It was only a week before the retention deadline that I realised where things were heading. That lack of communication was frustrating,“ Shreyas had said in January.

PBKS captain has a point to prove

And former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar feels that Shreyas’ return to KKR’s home base will get him fired up. He feels that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain will be hurt about not being retained. No one likes to be neglected, and that’s what KKR did to him. So he’ll have a point to prove against his ‘old team’.

“He will be fired up. And if he had been out of form, if they had not done well, then one could understand. But the captain of a winning team not being retained will hurt. No question about it, that will hurt,” Gavaskar told the broadcasters.

“Now he’s got it; he went for much, much more to PBKS, which is fine. That would have given him a little bit of consolation, but nobody wants to be left out, and that is the thing. So clearly, I think he will have a point to prove. Or maybe half a dozen points to prove,” he added.