‘Criteria to be captain…’- Former PBKS star drops bombshell statement on IPL and international leadership

The former right-arm pacer of the Punjab Kings, Sandeep Sharma, who features in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Rajasthan Royals, has opened up on the importance of understanding the basic difference between the international and Indian Premier League (IPL) leadership, as the debate has been regarding the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer.

Despite his incredible performance as the captain of the Kings to end as the runners-up of the IPL 2025, Iyer wasn’t considered for the Asia Cup 2025 squad, while many reckoned that he should have gotten the leadership responsibilities. That’s where Sandeep has begged to differ.

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“See, this debate that he, as a captain, took his teams to the finals, Surya is not doing the captaincy of any franchise. So, that is not the criterion to be the captain of the Indian side. And for the last three years, Rohit was not doing the captaincy of any franchise. But still, he was the captain of the T20 Indian team and one-day side as the leader.” Sharma expressed during an interview with CricTracker.  

Sandeep Sharma reveals if Shreyas Iyer should become India’s captain

Iyer was in tremendous touch for Punjab in IPL 2025 for his 604 runs in 17 innings at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of nearly 175 with six fifties. Sandeep revealed how, for international captains, the most important aspect is to handle the 15 players in a better way.

“So, that’s not the criteria that you have to be the leader in the IPL. IPL is totally different. It’s a domestic league. It’s the domestic league of the BCCI, right? And when you are picking an international team, you are picking 15 people. So you are picking a captain who will manage those 15 people better there.” The Patiala-born addressed.

“Here in the IPL, you have a lot of domestic players, a lot of young players. Some of them come from overseas. And in international cricket, you are picking someone who will manage your 15 better. So for that debate, I feel senseless about what he’s doing in the IPL. These teams are two different sides. I feel people need to learn and understand more about this thing.” Sandeep Sharma concluded.