Former Vidarbha and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pundit has welcomed Shreyas Iyer's appointment as India's new T20I captain. He said that Shreyas Iyer has always been impressed by his leadership skills and batting ability, both in domestic cricket and the IPL.
Recently, Iyer replaced Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I captain when the selectors announced T20I squads for the Ireland and England tours as well as for the Asian Games 2026. However, Iyer's first T20I assignment as captain is likely to be delayed.
Before his captaincy debut in Ireland, Chandrakant Pandit had stressed that Shreyas Iyer fully deserved the role after waiting patiently for his opportunity. The former Mumbai coach also noted that the right-hander kept scoring runs despite missing opportunities in the past, and everybody was just calling for his inclusion in the national team.
However, the Mumbaikar had to wait a couple of seasons before finally getting the recognition he deserved in a big way. He also lauded Ajit Agarkar and the selection committee for showing faith in Iyer, as he was elated that his time has finally come after waiting for a long time.
Chandrakant Pundit said on Revsportz, “Getting Shreyas Iyer as a captain in the Indian squad is absolutely spot on, I would say, because I have not only seen him in the Kolkata Knight Riders, but I've also seen him during my tenure with the Mumbai team as the coach. And he always shows those skills, abilities, and whatnot; I think he is a lovely player. And he's been scoring runs, lots of runs.”
He added, “And then he's been appointed, not only just included in the team, but he's been appointed as the India captain, which is a very good decision, I would say. The chairman of Ajit Agarkar and the entire committee, I would really appreciate the decision as well.”
Pandit opens up on Shreyas Iyer's man-management skills and biggest strength as captain
The former KKR coach has further said Shreyas Iyer's biggest strength as a captain is his ability to quickly understand match situations and make fearless decisions without hesitation. Not just Pandit, PBKS co-owner was highly impressed with Shreyas Iyer and made big prediction.
The pundit added: “Well, he understands the situation very quickly. And he also has that fearless approach to making a decision. I mean, he doesn't hesitate to make the decision. That is a quality from the captain, which is needed. Because, you know, nobody's perfect on the field. But to understand that situation quickly, and then you assess and take the decision, you require courage as well.”
?Exclusive: "Shreyas Iyer is a fearless captain. He had a huge role in KKR winning the title. He is never afraid of taking tough decisions.""Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is young. As a coach you have to manage him a bit differently. You have to resort to a bit of a soft touch to allow… pic.twitter.com/L2wrEJ0Cbs
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) June 12, 2026On being asked about his man-management skills in terms of handling the superstars, Pandit hailed Iyer's calm and simple leadership style. He said that Shreyas never creates unnecessary problems, and his only expectation from every player is just 100% commitment and effort on the field.
The former coach further noted, “He had never had a problem because he's always, as I said, he's always been a cool guy. And he doesn't bother anyone for anything as long as everyone gives him 100% in the middle.”
Chandrakant Pandit breaks silence on KKR-Iyer spat
The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter also shared that he and Iyer worked well together during their time at KKR and were happy with what they achieved, including the IPL title. He felt Shreyas was more unfortunate because he led the team to success but didn’t get that recognition.
On Iyer parting ways with KKR, the former coach said, “Nobody put pressure on Iyer. It was also not like he was not fitting into the strategy or combination. So, only that, unfortunately, happened because of the last-moment decisions; you know, that doesn't work with you.”
However, Pandit did not comment on whether Shreyas Iyer got enough recognition as captain or whether KKR missed him, but he stressed that the franchise has always respected and appreciated the former skipper. He also had a very good and comfortable working relationship with Iyer as coach, and there is no bad blood between them.
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