Shreyas Iyer: 'I hate losing. That's what has elevated me to where I am right now as a captain'
In his third IPL captaincy stint, this time with Punjab Kings, Iyer is relishing the challenge of leading a franchise that has yet to add to its trophy cabinet
It is bloody heavy because there are so many pearls on it! The replica, which we were carrying right before the game during a photo shoot, wasn't that heavy. But the one that you lift after winning the match is quite heavy - around seven to ten kilos. But it's fantastic. The feeling is completely different - it's like you're holding the queen's necklace, hypothetically speaking. The feeling is outstanding.
It's a proud feeling to be one of the eight guys. The journey has been like a rollercoaster ride, it has never been easy. I'm someone who believes thoroughly in winning all the time. I hate losing, personally, and I think that's what has elevated me to where I am right now as a captain.
I was absolutely gobsmacked. I wasn't expecting that amount, but I was expecting somewhere around that amount. So once [the bidding] crossed a certain point, I was covering my ears with cotton and I just didn't want to stay in front of the TV. I went to the washroom. I was in Hyderabad at that point of time, playing Syed Mushtaq Ali (Iyer was Mumbai captain). Yeah, I was dumbstruck.
Yes, absolutely. I feel the captain and the coach are the ones who are the decision-makers on the field - and even off the field at times, because you want all the players to be happy and have a certain kind of focus towards the team winning matches, more than just going out there and enjoying. The responsibility is also shared equally. It's not that we will be putting the blame on each other. I've worked with him in the past, I know how his mindset is, and I know he gives that sort of freedom.
I'm a liberating captain. I just let the players be. I don't have a set group [of players] who I chill with or that I love to hang out with. I will just be by myself and maybe that's my attitude and that's how I am as a person, because from the outside I don't want to be portrayed as [someone who] only gives attention to certain players in the team. I love players to be themselves. I don't want them to behave in any particular way. But when we are on the field, I want each and every individual to have the same mindset and the same motto: winning and contributing towards the team's benefit. That's it. I don't want anything else.
One of the guys who came from outside [the KKR dugout], he asked me, "Why did you give Andre Russell the bowling at that point of time?" I think he went for runs in the first or second over he bowled, and then no one expected [him to bowl consecutive overs], because other bowlers were bowling consistently and they were brilliant with their lines and lengths. But I know this guy is a game changer and he could come and give you the breakthrough you need. So it was like a gut call. The first thought that comes to mind, I always back it.
I love to take decisions independently, but at the same time I like to brainstorm with everyone, know their ideas, because everyone should have [inputs] towards the team's success and [it's important] to listen to them. That way I gain a lot of knowledge from others, from the opinions they have. Their perception of the team also matters. And if I find [they make] the right point, sometimes I go and execute that.
Yeah. For example, if you are playing a game in the morning and it starts at 9am, you need to know what time to go to bed. If you go to bed late, your body's not going to recover and you will face things the next day you won't even imagine. So I feel it is majorly important, and especially as a youngster, you don't realise how much it affects you, but in the later stages [of your career] you have a fair idea about where you stand and how much experience you've gained over a period of time, so you prioritise things rightly and you know what basically helps you and what doesn't. Personally for me, [discipline] has helped a lot, and when I follow a certain set of routines for myself I can see the results. It may be different for certain people or certain players might be doing something else, but at the end of the day, all I care about is, you are giving 110% on the field. If you're doing that without being disciplined, it's completely fine.
I would always rate [myself] 10 because I don't like to doubt myself at all.
Yes, absolutely. Keeping fingers crossed.
Well, I've started singing a few Punjabi songs, so I'm hoping it keeps getting better.
I want to be that anchor in the team who usually plays at No. 3, who can bat, once set, until the 15-16th over and end on a good note. That's how I started playing my cricket in the past, when I was representing DC. Also, when we were brainstorming with Ricky, this was the position [we spoke about] for me to be in.
I feel that I'm flexible. I can bat at any position, as I did in KKR, but still some people think that my numbers weren't that great. But if you go and see the numbers and the positions at which I batted, the strike rate and also the average and combined all that, it benefited the team in every possible way. It's just that perception people create from the outside, that this particular batsman should be batting at this [position in the] order. I am not that kind of a thinker. I love to be flexible. I can bat at any [position]. If my team demands I bat at a certain position, I would do that.
Absolutely. I'm flexible and ready to bat anywhere in the batting order. KL and I, we played that important role in the middle during the World Cup. We had a great season together. It was just the last bit [the final] that we couldn't execute the way we wanted to. It will be a proud moment for me if I were to be picked in the Champions Trophy [side] to represent the country.
Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo