A viral video has surfaced showing Shreyas Iyer in a lighthearted, playful exchange where he jokingly "forces" a fan to handle the paparazzi on his behalf. The video captures Iyer being approached by a fan for a picture while surrounded by media photographers. Instead of a standard pose, Iyer humorously puts the fan in the "hot seat," prompting them to answer questions or face the cameras as if they were the celebrity being papped. This moment has been received as a "sweet" and "adorable" interaction, contrasting with more stressful viral clips from late 2025 where Iyer was seen reprimanding security staff for taking selfies instead of managing crowds.

Iyer has recently been praised for his "magnetic" and "calm" energy during public outings. Fans have dubbed this the "Sarpanch" aura, a nickname popularized by his current IPL team, the Punjab Kings. Instead of just posing, Iyer humorously nudged the fan toward the cameras and microphones, jokingly telling them to handle the media questions on his behalf so he could take a break.

Shreyas Iyer establishes himself as ‘Sarpanch’ for Punjab Kings’ fans

Shreyas Iyer has fully embraced his "Sarpanch" persona, a nickname that has transformed from a casual social media tag into a core part of his identity as the Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain. Iyer recently admitted that he was initially "clueless" about the nickname when he first joined Punjab Kings. He only understood its significance after teammates explained that a "Sarpanch" is the head of a family, group, or district.What started as fan banter was quickly adopted by PBKS management as a branding strategy, appearing in official promos and social media content as "Sarpanch Saab".

The nickname has stuck because Iyer has consistently delivered on-field results since taking over the captaincy. As of April 24, 2026, Iyer has led PBKS to a historic unbeaten run of 6 games to start the season. He is in red-hot form, currently holding an average of 52.00 with a blistering strike rate of 182.45. He has already struck three consecutive fifties this season, including a match-winning 69 off 33 balls* against Sunrisers Hyderabad.