Punjab Kings (PBKS) were led by Marcus Stoinis midway through Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) innings with the bat in Mullanpur on Sunday, April 20. The all-rounder had to step in as the stand-in captain as Shreyas Iyer was unwell, and had to leave the field.
The leadership transition took place after the powerplay, as Iyer was not seen on the field. The broadcasters mentioned that the skipper is reportedly not feeling well, while Marcus Stoinis takes over the captaincy reins in his absence.
The Australian all-rounder has leadership experience through his stint with the Melbourne Stars in the 2024 Big Bash League (BBL) season. He took over from his PBKS teammate Glenn Maxwell, and scripted an incredible turnaround to guide the franchise to the playoffs.
Stoinis struggled to bring in any sort of control while defending the 158-run target. Although PBKS got the key early breakthrough after Arshdeep Singh dismissed Phil Salt yet again, the visitors have been fairly comfortable since then.
Impact player Devdutt Padikkal has taken down PBKS’ spin duo while Virat Kohli is also ticking along effortlessly from the other end. At the time of writing, RCB are placed at 109-1 after 12 overs in the run chase.
Iyer’s captaincy has played a huge role in PBKS’ early success in IPL 2025
Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy has ensured that the PBKS unit runs smoothly. Bringing in plenty of experience and an IPL title under his belt, the right-handed batter was the obvious captaincy candidate. In Iyer’s absence, the team does lack leadership options. In the current playing side against RCB, only Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis have captaincy experience at the highest level.
The gruelling heat may have played a role in Iyer’s condition. The afternnon game played a day before between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Delhi Capitals (DC) saw the likes of Axar Patel and Jos Buttler battling cramps. Iyer returned to the field right after the 12th over mark. But, the afternoon gets worse for PBKS as bowling spearhead Arshdeep Singh is also off the field after injuring himself while fielding.
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Edited by Gokul Nair
