Shreyas Iyer's inspiring journey from ball boy to winning IPL title

Dubai: As a young budding cricketer an oppportunity to watch the stars up and close is a dream come true. That moment arrived in Shreyas Iyer's life when he was selected as a ball boy during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede stadium in 2008 during the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Recalling those days, Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Iyer told JioHotstar on the 'Superstars' programme, "I grew up playing street cricket in my area, and at that time, I was playing for Mumbai's U-14 team. All the kids from the Mumbai squad were assigned to be ball boys, and It was was my first experience of IPL up close. I remember being shy and reserved, but I was lucky to be one of them. With my friends approaching players, I felt left out and decided to try too. Ross Taylor was one of my favorite players back then, so I went up to him and said, 'Sir, I am a big fan of yours.' He was very sweet and thanked me. Back then, it was common to ask for a bat or gloves, but I was too shy to ask, even though I really wanted to."

He also recalled meeting Punjab Kings' all-rounder Irfan Pathan during the same match and being in awe of the team, saying, "I vividly remember Irfan Pathan standing at long-on. He sat next to us and asked if we were enjoying the match. We told him we were having a lot of fun and were thrilled to see him. At that time, Irfan bhai was very popular, and the Punjab team had some of the most good looking boys, including Yuvi pa (Yuvraj Singh). It's a memory that has stayed with me even after so many years."

He also said he got a chance to have a brief interaction with New Zealand's Ross Taylor, who played for RCB during the match.

The journey since then has been impressive for Iyer who went on to win the IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders last year. He will be aiming to replicate the same magic with Punjab Kings when they kickstart their campaign against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium on March 25.

Since his debut in 2015, Iyer has scored 3,127 runs at an average of 32.23, with a strike rate of 127.47, with 21 fifties. His best score is 96. During his first season in 2015 with Delhi Capitals, he won the 'Emerging Player' award for scoring 439 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33.77, with four fifties. In 2018, Iyer got his first taste of captaincy with DC and in 2020, he led the team to finals, where they lost to Mumbai Indians (MI). In 2022, he was moved to KKR and he won the 2024 season with them under mentorship of Gautam Gambhir.

With inputs from agencies