The skipper and talismanic batter of the Punjab Kings (PBKS), Shreyas Iyer found himself in a very precarious situation. Much to the scare of the team's fans, their leader suffered a nasty blow to the index finger of his hand during a practice session one day before the match. He was seen chatting to the head coach, Ricky Ponting, about it and looked in disbelief. He, however, didn't pull out, and as captains are, gritty and dogged, he went along with it. The ice pack and magic spray came to his rescue for the time being, and only he knew for how long. 

Iyer usually bats one down in the order, but came further down. He could be seen struggling with donning his gloves, and eventually came in the middle at the fall of the third wicket of his team. He faced difficulties in timing the ball and was more often than not in a tentative state while batting in his brief and slow innings of 30 runs in 25 balls. His injured finger made him bat unlike his intrinsic self, and it was a worrying sign for everyone in the dugout and all of Punjab's faithful. 

In the second innings, the explosive batter didn't take the field. He was instead substituted, and Shashank Singh, the finisher, was handed over the captaincy duties. The stand-in captain was helped by Ricky Ponting and Shreyas too from the dugout. Punjab, in the end, managed a victory by 10 runs, and a favourable result in the match, scheduled later in the day, confirmed their playoff spot. 

🚨 A BIG SALUTE TO SHREYAS IYER 🚨

- Shreyas Iyer injured his index finger while training yesterday, he was in pain but played the important game for Punjab Kings. [Sahil Malhotra from TOI] pic.twitter.com/YHbskGnIbH

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 18, 2025

Shreyas Iyer is giving regular inputs to the players from boundary rope 👌

- Injured but giving everything for his team. pic.twitter.com/XQjI7KhmBt

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 18, 2025

See Also: IPL 2025: Why was Shreyas Iyer substituted in match between RR vs PBKS?

Shreyas has been in impeccable form this season, both with the bat and while leading the team. His bowling and fielding changes have been immaculate, and that has fetched the team immense success this season. He is also their second-highest run scorer after Prabhsimran Singh, and his impactful knocks have dealt an irreplaceable punch to the opposition. In an unfortunate scenario, if his finger is unable to heal in time for the rest of the matches in the season, PBKS will have a tough time in his absence and might have to rope in strong replacements.

While Shreyas Iyer is by far an irreplaceable asset for the Punjab Kings, here's a look at a few players who can potentially fill in his shoes for the remainder of the season -

Sarfaraz Khan

India's relatively newer test entrant was unlucky to miss out in the auction. He went unsold at a base price of Rs 50 lakhs, while his brother Musheer bagged a deal with PBKS. He has not had great IPL returns over the years, but his recent exploits with the Indian test team might bring about a change in his attitude and produce the explosive best out of him, if recruited by the Punjab franchise. It is also the time to reward him for his stringent fitness regime that he has been on, off-season.

Anmolpreet Singh

Prabhsimran Singh's cousin went unsold in the auction at a base price of 30 lakhs. Just a few weeks after that, he smashed the quickest List A hundred by an Indian, in 35 balls, and guided Punjab to a comprehensive victory over Arunachal Pradesh in a Vijay Hazare match. Previously, he has been a part of the Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, but without much impact and a low average. 

KS Bharat

Once in and out of the Indian test team, but still featuring in the World Test Championship final 2023, and now completely off the cards, Bharat can be a decent backup. Bharat, however, has not had many good moments in his IPL career and went unsold this time. His experience is a guarantee, and he has previously represented the Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, and Kolkata Knight Riders. If brought in, he can play an anchor as well as an explosive innings.