Shreyas Iyer, leading Punjab Kings, spoke up following a sharp hit he took mid-game on Tuesday versus Gujarat Titans. A drive off Cooper Connolly’s bat rocketed toward the non-striking end, finding Iyer’s hand. He reacted fast – shielding himself – but absorbed the full force anyway. Pain showed quick. Medical staff moved in without delay to check him over. A pause came just when Punjab were building momentum, yet it disrupted their flow right then. When play restarted, Iyer struggled to find his earlier ease despite trying. Shortly afterward, he lost his wicket – caught out attempting a careless stroke – as tension grew louder than before
Five balls left when PBXS finally crossed the line, pulling off a tight three-wicket victory despite the pressure building late.
Starting strong in the tournament, Iyer faced questions on his health right away. Fine at the moment, he mentioned – yet held back, refusing to push luck with bold claims.
“All I can say, it’s nice. It’s the same as it was before. I don’t want to jinx anything. I just want to stay positive and hopefully everything comes out right,” Iyer said in the post-match presentation.
When Iyer left the field, Punjab’s innings crumbled – just thirty-four runs later they were down five wickets. Prasidh Krishna charged in hard, tearing past batters who had looked steady moments before. From the dressing room, where medical staff attended his niggle, Iyer watched things spiral without him. The scoreboard blinked red fast, one name after another crossing off. He admitted composure could slip when chaos hits mid-innings. Still, faith in whoever remains standing matters most once the storm rolls in.
“Honestly speaking, I was focused on my hand inside, icing it and then suddenly we lost two wickets back-to-back. These things happen in the IPL and you have to remain calm and composed in such situations. So the message was pretty simple. Just take the game to the end and Cooper was there,” the PBKS skipper said.
Shreyas Iyer praises Cooper Connolly
Funny how he lingered on Connolly, almost like Iyer couldn’t help but bring him up again. That calmness under pressure – yeah, it stood out. Not many players notice space the way that one does. You could hear the respect in his voice when talking about decision-making. Form? He seems sure it won’t slip anytime soon. What sticks is how naturally everything fits together for that kid.
“He was pretty much set. And he’s got a great awareness as a player. I’ve seen him in the past as well, playing for Australia. He’s got a great mindset and hopefully he continues with the same form,” he added
