Less than a year ago, Shreyas Iyer captained Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL title. Now, in IPL 2025, he’s set to face his former team—this time leading Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Tuesday.

Before this season, KKR retained six players, but Iyer wasn’t among them. The move to a new franchise and a reunion with coach Ricky Ponting have brought the best out of him.

In IPL 2024, Iyer had a strike rate of 146.86. This season, he’s taken it up a notch to 208.33—the highest among Indian batters who’ve faced at least 100 balls. Only Nicholas Pooran has managed a better strike rate under the same criteria. Iyer has also made noticeable improvements against short-pitched bowling, confidently dispatching fast bowlers.

Team News and Probable XIs

Lockie Ferguson is likely out for the season due to an injury suffered against Sunrisers Hyderabad. His absence will force PBKS to adjust their overseas combination. They might bring in Xavier Bartlett as a specialist pacer or opt for a pace-bowling allrounder like Azmatullah Omarzai or Aaron Hardie.

Punjab Kings (likely XI):

1. Prabhsimran Singh (wk)

2. Priyansh Arya

3. Shreyas Iyer (capt)

4. Nehal Wadhera

5. Shashank Singh

6. Glenn Maxwell

7. Marcus Stoinis

8. Azmatullah Omarzai / Aaron Hardie

9. Marco Jansen

10. Yuzvendra Chahal

11. Arshdeep Singh

12. Yash Thakur

KKR come into this game on a high, having handed Chennai Super Kings a record fifth straight loss. On a turning Chepauk track, their spin trio—Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and Moeen Ali—dominated. With Mullanpur offering an average of 30.12 for spinners this season, PBKS could face a similar spin test.

Kolkata Knight Riders (likely XI):

1. Quinton de Kock (wk)

2. Sunil Narine

3. Ajinkya Rahane (capt)

4. Angkrish Raghuvanshi

5. Venkatesh Iyer

6. Rinku Singh

7. Andre Russell

8. Ramandeep Singh

9. Moeen Ali

10. Harshit Rana

11. Vaibhav Arora

12. Varun Chakravarthy