He Should Have Slapped Me...: Shashank Singh Breaks Silence On Shreyas Iyers Angry Reaction After Qualifier 2 Of IPL 2025

India.com

08-06-2025

Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Shashank Singh has opened up on Shreyas Iyer's angry reaction after his run-out in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Ahmedabad.
PBKS skipper Iyer played a fantastic knock (87 not out off 41) as his team chased down the target of 204 in 19 overs against Mumbai Indians. However, Shreyas Iyer got extremely furious at Shashank Singh for his lazy running, which led to his run out at a crucial stage of the game.
Recently, Shashank said that PBKS skipper should've slapped him. He also revealed that even his father didn't speak to him till the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), which Punjab Kings lost by six runs.
"I deserve it, Iyer should have slapped me, my father didn't speak to me till the finals. I was casual, I was walking on the beach not even in the garden. It was a crucial time, Shreyas was clear that I didn't expect this from you but later he took me out for dinner," Shashank told the Indian Express.
Shashank has also hailed Iyer's captaincy, saying that there is no better skipper than Shreyas in current times in world cricket.
"Whatever I have spoken to others and seen, there is no better captain than him in current times in world cricket. He gives us freedom, he treats everyone equally. No one will say, Shreyas has an attitude. The youngsters in the dressing room find him to be a chill bandaa. Shreyas is the only captain, who has told us that if anyone has any suggestion during the game, he can come and convey it to him. If he feels it's the right advice, he will take it. It's rare," he said.
When it comes to his performance in the IPL 2025 final, the 33-year-old remained unbeaten on 61 off 30. However, it wasn't good enough as PBKS lost to RCB by six runs.
During that innings, the right-hander missed a couple of easy full tosses, including one in the final over.
"I had done my calculation of the last two overs, Bhuvi likes to bowl yorkers so I had planned to get at least 16-17 runs from him. My calculation was that in the last over our target should be 24 runs in 6 balls. I got only 13 from Bhuvi's over though, so the final over runs needed was 30," said Shashank.
"Mentally, my mind was ready to get a first ball yorker from Hazelwood. So I had positioned myself but I never anticipated a full toss one, that too on my thigh pad. Now I feel, if I would have connected it, even if I got it on the handle of the bat, I would have got maximum, because the fine-leg was near. I was hoping for a wide from him but it never came. When I saw the scoreboard stating the last ball needed 12 runs, I knew it's all over.
People appreciated my batting wherever I have gone but all are reminding me of that one full toss miss. Mujhe bahut bura laga. The ball was on my hip, square leg was up, I just had to get that bat in which I couldn't. From hotel to airport to ground to home, everyone had that one point 'bhaiyya woh ball mar dete bas'," he added.