The one whose annual contract was taken away citing indiscipline, became the biggest hero of IPL, celebrated in Messi's style

A few weeks before the IPL, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) terminated Shreyas Iyer's central contract. Apart from this, his career was also in danger due to repeated back injuries. Shreyas has faced many challenges since the beginning of this year. Leaving all these disappointments behind, he ended KKR's 10-year IPL title drought just like Messi led Argentina to win the World Cup after 36 years. While Lionel Messi had to face defeat in the 2014 World Cup final, Shreyas also faced similar difficult times in 2020, when Delhi Capitals reached the IPL final under his captaincy.

After lifting the IPL trophy, Shreyas celebrated with his teammates in the same way as Messi did after defeating France in the FIFA World Cup final in Doha. After KKR's victory in the final, veteran Ian Bishop said, 'I am hearing a lot about Gautam Gambhir that he has created a great atmosphere in the team. But I don't think this player is getting enough credit. We should give him credit.'

For KKR, openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt scored the most runs but other players also raised their level of performance whenever they got the chance, due to which the team topped the points table with two matches remaining in the league stage. Shreyas Iyer said, 'It is difficult to express the emotions at this time. This wait was very long. We remained undefeated throughout the season. There are many memories to cherish.

After KKR reached the final, Shreyas has become the first captain in this league to take two franchises to the finals. He was away from the game last season due to surgery to recover from a back injury, but his return this season has been miraculous for the team.

This year did not start well for Shreyas. After scoring 140 runs in the first two matches of the home Test series against England, he was dropped from the team for the last three matches. It was revealed that back pain was troubling him again. However, the BCCI medical team declared him fit. Shreyas got embroiled in controversy when he was accused of joining KKR's pre-season camp instead of playing Ranji for Mumbai. However, he returned to play the semi-finals and finals for Mumbai. In the final, he laid the foundation for the team's victory by scoring 95 runs in the second innings against Vidarbha. His contribution made Mumbai the Ranji champion for the 42nd time. During this, the BCCI removed Shreyas Iyer from the Grade B contract and the board issued a warning asking the players not to give priority to IPL over domestic cricket.

IPL started badly for Shreyas. In the team's first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he was out on zero off two balls. After this, he played some important innings, but all his hard work faded in front of the explosive batting of Narayan and Salt. Shreyas was the fourth most successful batsman of the team by scoring 351 runs. Shreyas created the image of a 'cool captain' throughout the season and gave more priority to the success of the team than his own performance. While chasing the target of 160 runs in the qualifier match against Sunrisers, he played an unbeaten aggressive innings of 58 runs and gave the team an easy victory.

Praveen Amre said, 'The way he handled the team as a player is commendable. He is constantly improving as a captain. I believe that success does not come just like that. He has worked hard for this. He has handled the team. Yes, he had a good team but you should know how to get the best performance from all the players.' (input language)

tag: ipl 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders, Shreyas Iyer