New milestone: Shreyas Iyer completes IPL captaincy ‘century’, joins Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit

Dharamsala: Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer became only the fifth player in Indian Premier League history to captain a side in 100 matches during Sunday’s IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.

Before Iyer, only MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had reached the milestone as IPL captains.

The 31-year-old has captained three franchises — Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings — during his IPL career.

Iyer began his captaincy stint with Delhi Capitals in 2018 and led the side in 41 matches. He guided the franchise to its maiden IPL final in 2020. He later captained Kolkata Knight Riders in 29 matches between 2022 and 2024 and led the side to the IPL title in 2024.

His current stint with Punjab Kings has already resulted in another final appearance. With that, Iyer became the only captain in IPL history to lead three different teams into the tournament final.

Record puts Iyer alongside IPL’s most successful leaders

Before Sunday’s match, Iyer had recorded 56 wins from 99 matches as captain, including two Super Over victories. He also suffered 40 defeats, while three matches ended without a result.

His win percentage in completed matches stands at 58.3 per cent, level with Dhoni for the best success rate among IPL captains.

The milestone further adds to Iyer’s leadership record across franchises with different squad combinations and transitions.

Punjab Kings endured mixed IPL 2026 campaign

Punjab Kings made a strong start to IPL 2026 with a seven-match unbeaten run, which included six victories and one washed-out match.

However, the team later lost momentum after suffering five consecutive defeats, leaving its playoff hopes uncertain.

Dhoni remains the most experienced IPL captain, having led Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant in 235 matches between 2008 and 2025.