Long before Shreyas Iyer was appointed India’s T20I captain, Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia had already told him he would one day lead the national side, a prediction that left the top-order batter surprised.
After spending a staggering Rs 26.75 crore to secure Iyer at the IPL mega auction in 2024, Wadia revealed that he first met the PBKS skipper at his residence, just before a team camp in Dharamshala, held ahead of the IPL 2025 season.
So impressed was Wadia during that first interaction that he immediately felt he was looking at a future India captain.
“Our first meeting was a brief one, at my house for about an hour before the Dharamshala camp last year, ahead of IPL 2025,” Wadia told Cricbuzz. “I’d spoken to him a few times on the phone
and things like that, but I’d never actually met him in person. Within 15 minutes I turned around to him and said, ‘You know, you’re going to be India captain one day.’ And I said, ‘When you become captain, remember who told you.’ He looked at me a little surprised and smiled. He said, ‘No, no, no.’”
Wadia credited Iyer’s grounded personality, sharp cricketing mind, and composed on-field behaviour as the reasons behind his early conviction.
“Because he’s a really, really good human being and a wonderful person – simple, grounded, stays within himself. And then, when he comes onto the field, he becomes this wonderful leader. He’s got a fantastic cricketing brain and has been captaining for so many years. He’s a fantastic leader. I love sports and I love sportsmen, and I’ve met many good people. But it’s definitely been an honour to meet him,” he said.
In his first season as PBKS captain, Iyer led the franchise to only their second IPL final appearance in history, and their first since 2014. The following season, PBKS remained unbeaten in their first seven matches in IPL 2026, but narrowly missed out on a playoff berth by a single point.
Wadia also highlighted Iyer’s calm and balanced leadership style, noting that he avoids putting undue pressure on players, even after mistakes.
“His style is very soft and gentle,” Wadia said. “He’s not pushy. He carries everyone along with him. He listens to his players and understands their strengths. He won’t overburden players when they’re under pressure. If they make mistakes, he’s not going to make a big issue out of it. He’s very balanced as a leader and leads from the front in many ways.”
He also pointed to Iyer’s brilliance in the field during IPL 2026 as evidence of his leadership-by-example approach.
“I mean, if you saw that catch this year against Mumbai Indians. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better catch because of the angle involved. And remember, that’s a very dangerous angle, and to pull that off was just phenomenal. He leads by example,” he added.
