"Whenever I get out of the hotel...": PBKS skipper Iyer on his 'Sarpanch Sahab' nickname

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 3 (ANI): Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer opened up on his 'Sarpanch Sahab' nickname received since his joining the franchise, saying that it has become a common occurrence for him to be referred by his fans by this nickname.

Iyer will have a chance to immortalise his name as the true 'Sarpanch' of PBKS as he looks forward to secure the franchise their first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.

Speaking in a video by PBKS' official X handle, Iyer said about his nickname, "I seriously have no idea about it. I have got no clue how I got this name, but I am sure it came from the management. They gave me this tag, and it has been tagged along. So wherever I go in Punjab right now, in Chandigarh, whenever I get out of the hotel, they're like, 'Sarpanch Sahab, take a picture."

"So, a lot of incidents have happened. But I remember this incident where we were just coming back from the ground in our Innova. So, we were stopped at the signal, and there was this car filled with five guys. They saw me sitting in the car, and they were like, 'Sarpanch Sahab, if you win this year, we will build a road here in your name'," he concluded.

https://x.com/PunjabKingsIPL/status/1929831825297301581

Iyer has been a remarkable leader for PBKS so far, leading from the front as the side's top run-getter with 603 runs in 16 matches and innings at an average of 54.81 and a strike rate of 175.80, with six fifties. His best score is 97*. He is the sixth-highest run-getter this season.

If Iyer wins, he will become the first-ever captain to win the title in two successive years with two different teams. He is already the only captain in IPL history to have led three different teams to finals, Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and PBKS.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Blessing Muzarabani, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh

Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)