Shreyas Iyer played a captain’s knock to help Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in New Chandigarh Stadium on April 11. SRH had batted first and posted a huge total of 219/6 in 20 overs.

Abhishek Sharma (74), Travis Head (38), and Heinrich Klaasen (39) were the big scorers for PBKS, while Shashank Singh and Arshdeep Singh took two wickets each for PBKS.

In response, Priyansh Arya (57) and Prabhsimran Singh (51) put up 99 runs in 6.2 overs. While the PBKS innings wobbled a bit, Shreyas Iyer made 69* in 33 balls with 5 fours and as many sixes to guide the team past the finish line, scoring 223/4 in 18.5 overs.

Shreyas Iyer has been in top form in white-ball games, especially T20s, having scored 600-plus runs for PBKS in IPL 2025 and guided them to the IPL final for the second time. However, a spot in the Indian T20 World Cup 2026 team eluded him.

Given Shreyas' recent form, former India batter Manoj Tiwary issued a bold declaration, stating that if Shreyas is still not selected for the India playing XI in the shortest format, he will stage a protest.

“He showed great composure in his batting. If, even after this, he is not selected for the Indian team, we will go on a protest and fight for him. We will try to ensure that he gets what he deserves. We have already seen that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have taken retirements. The Indian team needs one player who can help the team win by showing full control and help the team win ICC trophies,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.

Former India batsman Virender Sehwag, who was on the same panel as Tiwary, expressed the same sentiment, stating he doesn't understand why Shreyas didn't make the World Cup selection despite his consistent IPL performances last season.

“Shreyas finished the match for his team. He did the same in the previous match. Shreyas has been doing this for a long time. I am surprised that he wasn't able to get a spot in India's World Cup team. He did so well in the previous IPL, leading Punjab Kings to the final. I just hope he can get a place in the Indian team for the next T20 World Cup,” said Sehwag.

“I will repeat once again that I am surprised that Shreyas wasn't a part of India's T20 World Cup team. I hope that he gets his spot in the T20 team after this year and he is able to cement his place,” he added.

Shreyas has played 4 matches so far in IPL 2026 and has scored 137 runs at an average of 68.50 and a strike rate of 187.67.