Shreyas Iyer says very few people supported him during tough phase of his career

Indian batter Shreyas Iyer has claimed that very few people supported him during the tough phase of his career. Iyer was left out of India’s central contract after he didn’t play for Mumbai in the domestic circuit.

The youngster said the likes of Abhishek Nayar, India’s assistant coach who worked with him at Kolkata Knight Riders, along with Pravin Amre and his trainer, Sagar, supported him when he was down.

Iyer played a key role in India’s Champions Trophy success, scoring 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60 and a strike rate of 79.41. The right-hander was India’s highest run-getter in the tournament and the second-highest in the competition after Rachin Ravindra.

“Whenever I am in that low phase of life, very few people message me. And they are Pravin Amre sir, Abhishek Nayar, Sagar and there are few other people who supported me a lot during that time and I will always keep them with me. They are normal when everything is fine but even nicer when I am undergoing that low period. I appreciate that kind of mentality and you will definitely grow if you have such people around you,” Shreyas told The Times of India.

On the other hand, Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to glory in IPL 2024 but felt he didn’t get the recognition he deserved. Iyer decided to put his hat in the ring for the IPL 2025 auction and he was bagged by Punjab Kings for a whopping amount of INR 26.75 crore.

“The major focus was to win the IPL and thankfully I won it. I personally felt I didn’t get the recognition I wanted to after winning the IPL but at the end of the day, as long as you have self-integrity and you keep doing the right things when no one is watching, that is more important and that is what I kept doing,” Shreyas said.

Iyer will lead the Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL.