Courtesy: X

Courtesy: X

On Sunday, January 12, during the latest episode of Bigg Boss 18, the host Salman Khan announced Shreyas Iyer as the new captain of Punjab Kings for the upcoming 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 30-year-old made an appearance on the reality TV show alongside his new teammates at Punjab Kings, namely Yuzvendra Chahal and Shashank Singh, and on the set, his ascension to the leadership role of the IPL franchise, which was rumoured for quite some time, got confirmed.

Notably, Shreyas Iyer was picked up by Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 mega auction last November for a whopping price of INR 26.75 Crore, to make him the highest paid player in the history of the tournament, but it only lasted for a few minutes. Shortly after, his Indian teammate Rishabh Pant became the highest paid player in IPL after Lucknow Super Giants shelled out INR 27 Crore for the services of the wicket-keeper batter.

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Shreyas Iyer was very excited to take captaincy charge of Punjab Kings

Before the actual broadcast of the latest episode of the Bigg Boss 18 on Colors and JioCinema, there were a lot of rumours circulating about Shreyas Iyer getting appointed as the new captain of PBKS, and it turned out to be true. Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who has been the host of the show for more than a decade, announced the name of Shreyas Iyer in the leadership role of Punjab Kings in his presence, bringing a huge smile to the cricketer’s face.

Moreover, in another blockbuster news surrounding the IPL, the date for the opening match of the 2025 season was revealed by Rajeev Shukla, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President. Following the conclusion of the Special General Meeting (SGM) at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, while speaking to the press, Rajeev Shukla said that the new IPL season will begin on March 23 without naming the teams set to play in the opening match.

Apart from PBKS, there are a few other IPL teams, who are yet to announce their new captains after the departure of the former ones over the last few months.