Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pandit has opened up about how and why KKR let go of Shreyas Iyer before IPL 2025.
After a strong body of work in domestic cricket, Pandit was appointed head coach of KKR in 2023 following Brendon McCullum’s exit in 2022, as the latter was appointed the head coach of the England Cricket Team.
In 2024, head coach Pandit, captain Iyer, and mentor Gautam Gambhir built a formidable engine room that delivered an IPL title after a 10-year gap for the men in Purple.
Following this win, though, things started unravelling for KKR. Gambhir graduated to becoming the head coach of the Indian national team, and Iyer unceremoniously decided to exit KKR.
At the time, Shreyas Iyer had stated that he did not feel recognized for his efforts in leading KKR to the IPL title. He eventually joined the Punjab Kings in IPL 2025 for a whopping INR 26.75 cr.
Chandrakant Pandit spoke to RevSportz about Shreyas Iyer’s exit from KKR.
“Sometimes circumstances force you to leave such a player” – Chandrakant Pandit
When asked whether KKR had made a mistake by not retaining Iyer, Pandit said that whatever transpired was unfortunate.
“Unfortunately, we missed him. Shreyas is a wonderful player who won the trophy for KKR as captain, and the way he has handled the team. But sometimes, certain circumstances force you to leave such players. Because there are big strategies. Obviously, as a coach, when I was at KKR, I felt bad about that. Because it was not a purposeful thing, but it didn’t work for us. I mean, it’s not only Shreyas, but I think [Phil] Salt or other players when we talk about it,” he said.
KKR struggle after letting Shreyas Iyer go
After Shreyas Iyer left KKR and joined PBKS in 2025, the fortunes of both teams have done a full 180.
KKR appointed Ajinkya Rahane as their captain in IPL 2025, but he could not recreate last year’s magic. With him as captain and Pandit as coach, KKR finished eighth in IPL 2025. Following this, Pandit parted ways with KKR, but Rahane remained at the helm.
KKR appointed Abhishek Nayar as head coach for IPL 2026, but he hasn’t been able to improve things. In IPL 2026, KKR are currently last on the points table with just 1 win in 7 matches.
Iyer finds success at Punjab Kings
Iyer was appointed skipper of Punjab Kings and turned the team’s fortunes around. Under his leadership, alongside head coach Ricky Ponting, PBKS made the playoffs for the first time after 11 years. Iyer led Punjab to the final which they lost to RCB.
This was the second collaboration as captain-coach between Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting. The two were a part of Delhi Capitals in 2019 and 2020. DC finished third and second, respectively in those two years.
The Iyer-Ponting duo has continued Punjab’s momentum into IPL 2026. With 5 wins and 1 no result in 6 matches, PBKS are on top of the points table this year.
“Shreyas Iyer is focused on making a comeback” – Pandit
Chandrakant Pandit also touched upon Shreyas Iyer’s long absence from and potential comeback into India’s T20I side. Iyer has not played a T20 international for India since December 2023.
He was included in the squad for the T20I series against New Zealand prior to the T20 World Cup this year, but did not get any matches and missed the showpiece event as well.
Pandit said that there is heavy competition currently to get into the Indian side in any format, and sometimes good players will be left out.
“When building a team, there is always the challenge of balancing experience with the need to groom new talent. With the depth of talent available, it becomes difficult to provide opportunities to every deserving player. There is always competition, and often, equally capable replacements are available.”
He also said that Iyer has been doing a good job in leading PBKS this year. Pandit eventually concluded by saying that Shreyas Iyer understands what he needs to do to be able to make a comeback to the Indian team, and is following that mindset.
“Missing out on the World Cup is disappointing, but such decisions come with the responsibility of the selection committee, and it’s not something that can simply be criticised. In the past, we have seen similar cases. These situations are part of the game, and Shreyas seems to understand that well.”
