Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 13 : Indian and Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Shreyas Iyer, in a statement reflecting his immense self-belief, saying he considers himself a "10/10" player in T20s, and he does not like to doubt himself.
Iyer was speaking to ESPNCricinfo in an interview. He has been appointed as the captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS) heading into the Indian Premier League (IPL) season this year. This comes after some seriously brilliant outings as a captain, such as leading Delhi Capitals (DC) to the finals in 2020, winning Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) their first IPL title in 10 years and their overall third just last year and clinching the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with Mumbai as a skipper too.
While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Iyer said, "I would always rate myself 10 because I do not like to doubt myself at all."
In 51 T20Is for India, Iyer has made 1,104 runs at an average of 30.66, with a strike rate of over 136. He has made eight fifties in 47 innings, with best score of 74*. In 223 T20s, he has scored 5,974 runs at an average of 33.00, with a strike rate of 133.64. He has three centuries and 37 fifties in 217 innings, with best score of 147.
Iyer, further elaborating on his style of captaincy, termed himself as a "liberating captain".
"I just let the players be. I do not have a set group of players who I chill with or that I love to hang out with. I will just be by myself and maybe that is my attitude and that is how I am as a person, because from the outside I do not want to be portrayed as someone who only gives attention to certain players in the team. I love players to be themselves. I do not want them to behave in any particular way. But when we are on the field, I want each and every individual to have the same mindset and the same motto: winning and contributing towards the team's benefit. That is it. I do not want anything else," he added.
The PBKS skipper further added that he believes in backing his players irrespective of the situation.
"I love being instinctive and sometimes I take out-of-the-box calls you would not even imagine. It works for me. And I felt that it worked for me in the 2024 IPL final as well," he added.
The batter also expressed that he is proud to be one of the eight captains to have clinched the IPL title.
"The journey has been like a rollercoaster ride, it has never been easy. I am someone who believes thoroughly in winning all the time. I hate losing, personally, and I think that is what has elevated me to where I am right now as a captain," he concluded.
Forced out of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contracts last year due to alleged lack of red-ball cricket commitment and dedication, Iyer had a fairytale ending to 2024, winning four trophies, including 42nd Ranji Trophy title, Irani Cup, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with Mumbai and IPL 2024 with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), latter two of which came as captain.
Not only Iyer thrived as captain, he was also in top form as a batter across all formats, except for a brief dry run with India in England Tests and Sri Lanka ODIs. In 44 matches across all formats, Iyer made 1,841 runs at an average of 43.83, with four centuries and seven fifties and the best score of 233. Also, he secured a deal of Rs 26.75 crores with Punjab Kings (PBKS), becoming the second-most expensive player in the league. He will be captaining the team alongside coach Ricky Ponting.