AB de Villiers felt that this method of announcing the captaincy was new but instead of doing so, he would stick to press conferences and official announcements and would never adopt this method.
Star Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer was recently announced as the captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS) for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season during an episode of the popular reality show Bigg Boss.
For the first time in the history of IPL, a team has announced its captain in this way. After announcing such a captain, many mixed reactions were received from cricket fans on social media, which also included the reaction of South African cricket legend AB de Villiers.
AB de Villiers had a lot of fun
AB de Villiers felt that this method of announcing the captaincy was new but instead of doing so, he would stick to press conferences and official announcements and would never adopt this method.
“Shreyas Iyer was appointed captain of Punjab Kings in a very strange way on a TV show. I found it quite amusing. Perhaps, this is the new way of working. “I’m usually used to a press conference and a formal announcement, but this was actually quite a fresh concept in a way.”
Punjab Kings can perform well this season: AB de Villiers
30-year-old Shreyas Iyer’s leadership qualities and ability to perform under pressure will be a big strength for Punjab Kings. Punjab Kings have been struggling to make the playoffs since 2014. Interestingly, this will be Iyer’s third time captaining an IPL team. At the same time, former South African batsman AB de Villiers praised Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, especially his time with KKR, when he led the team to the title in 2024.
“He has achieved some success with KKR, won the IPL and led the team to victory. It was really unbelievable and also a big loss for KKR that Shreyas is no longer their captain. I think Shreyas handled the IPL very well, he performed well under huge pressure and against a lot of quality teams. Shreyas found a way to maintain peace and balance in the KKR unit.”
“But he has been with Punjab Kings this year and it is great to see him under the coaching of Ricky Ponting. Ponting is one of the best players to play the game. Their cricket minds are very sharp and it is great to watch both of them together. I think they have a good team and finally we can see Punjab Kings having a good season.