Shreyas Iyer entered an elite list in Indian Premier League history on Sunday, becoming only the fifth player to captain a side in 100 matches in the tournament. The milestone was reached during Punjab Kings' IPL 2026 encounter against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
Before Iyer, only MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma had reached the 100-match mark as IPL captains. The 31-year-old has captained three franchises in the league: Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Punjab Kings.
Iyer first assumed captaincy of Delhi Capitals in 2018, leading the team in 41 matches. Under his guidance, Delhi reached their maiden IPL final in 2020. He later moved to KKR and captained the side in 29 matches between 2022 and 2024. In 2024, he guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title.
His stint with Punjab Kings has already yielded a final appearance in IPL 2025, making Iyer the only captain in IPL history to lead three different teams into the tournament final. Before Sunday's game, Iyer had recorded 56 wins as captain, including two Super Over victories, and 40 defeats. Three matches ended without a result. His win percentage in completed matches stands at 58.3 percent, level with Dhoni for the best success rate among IPL captains.
In the match, Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Iyer said at the toss, "We're going to bowl. I'm not going by the stats; we're clearly seeing how the games pan out. If we bat and bowl well, the toss doesn't matter. I didn't know that it was my 100th game as captain, but I'll be happy if we win. We've been bowling fantastically, but we need to enjoy the pressure. Brar and Lockie come in."
Punjab Kings made two changes to their playing XI, bringing Harpreet Brar and Lockie Ferguson in place of Xavier Bartlett and Marco Jansen. Jitesh Sharma led RCB in the absence of full-time captain Rajat Patidar.
Punjab Kings' campaign this season has seen sharp swings in form. The team began IPL 2026 with a seven-match unbeaten run, including six wins and one washed-out game. However, five consecutive defeats later in the season pushed their playoff hopes into danger. Despite this, Iyer's captaincy has continued to rise steadily in the IPL. From transforming Delhi Capitals into contenders to leading KKR to a title and now attempting to revive Punjab Kings' campaign, he has built a strong record across teams.
At the top of the all-time IPL captaincy list remains Dhoni, who led Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant in 235 matches between 2008 and 2025.
