New DelhiAakash Chopra, a former Indian cricketer, said that Shreyas Iyer would not need anyone's support to be a good leader if he leads India to the T20 World Cup in 2028. People often say that Shreyas is an underappreciated captain. He is the only captain in the history of the Indian Premier League to lead three different teams to the finals.
He led Delhi Capitals to the IPL 2020 final, where his side fell short to Mumbai Indians and then captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the 2024 title before ending as a runner-up skipper with Punjab Kings to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025.
He led the Delhi Capitals to the IPL 2020 final, where they lost to the Mumbai Indians. Then, in 2024, he led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the title. In 2025, he was the runner-up captain with the Punjab Kings to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Aakash Chopra speaks on Shreyas' captaincy and why he left DC and KKRChopra, a former cricket player, discussed what the DC management might have thought when their captain was hurt. "You want what is right for the franchise more than what is right for the player," Chopra stated on JioStar's "IPL Today Live." "Shreyas Iyer got injured in the middle of the season, and it was always between him and Rishabh Pant, two young players Delhi had invested in. Then you hand over the captaincy to someone else."
"We don't know if you can prevent either of them from leaving, or if they both want to be captain, but the truth is that they must have had a conversation and decided to stick with Rishabh because they needed him and he had already been given the captaincy. Shreyas must have felt that if he stayed at the franchise, he would also want the captaincy, so he moved to a different franchise and performed well.
He also discussed the reasons behind Shreyas' lack of recognition at KKR. Two things happened at KKR with Shreyas Iyer. He was in a setup where the coach was also a very strong and popular personality. I believe that his contribution as a leader was somewhat diluted in the narrative that is frequently set by people who are not part of the team.
"That wasn't the case with or, or even at RCB, where there wasn't such a dominant figure outside calling the shots. Here, you had Gautam Gambhir, a very successful player and a very good mentor. The others, MS, Rohit, and Kohli, have been India Captains for a significant period and are very successful; credit is already given to them on a platter. In Shreyas' case, he is not an India Captain, but he is now getting his due, because he is performing so well."
Shreyas won't require endorsement if he wins the T20 World Cup for India, according to Aakash.The former cricket player added that if Shreyas wins the 2028 T20 World Cup as India's captain, he won't require any support in terms of leadership. "If you think that if he wins one more trophy (IPL), everything will change overnight and everyone will stand up to applaud, that might not happen. His aura won't change overnight, but the appreciation might get louder.
"Something like that can happen only in one scenario. The next T20 World Cup is in 2028. I am not saying that India’s T20 leadership will change immediately, but there is a possibility a couple of years down the line. If he stakes a claim to that spot, scores runs, which is the first criterion, takes his team to the playoffs, the final, or wins the trophy, and somehow becomes India’s T20I Captain in the near future, whether in 12 months or by the next World Cup, then everything will change. He could even become a World Cup-winning captain for India, and that aura is different. Then he would not need any endorsement from anyone."