Yograj Singh, former Indian cricketer and father of legendary Yuvraj Singh, has sparked the controversy by calling Shreyas Iyer a “criminal” after Punjab Kings (PBKS) lost the IPL 2025 trophy to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on June 3 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
In a brutally honest outburst, Yograj blamed Shreyas Iyer for shattering Punjab Kings and its fans' dream of winning the maiden IPL title. He said that Iyer committed the biggest blunder of the night by opting to go for a risky big shot in the crunch moment against the RCB.
Yograj Singh was quoted as saying by IANS: “There was only one criminal in Punjab’s loss in the IPL final, and he was captain Shreyas Iyer. Someone needs to ask him, after playing such brilliant cricket for Punjab throughout the tournament and knowing that there was no strong finisher left after him, why did he try to hit that six and throw the match away? Is cricket your father's property?”
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In the crunch moment, Romario Shepherd delivered a short ball outside off, and Shreyas went for a cut but only managed a faint edge and was caught behind the wicket by Jitesh Sharma.
Following Iyer’s dismissal, only Shashank Singh (61* off 30 balls) fought till the end for Punjab, but they eventually fell seven runs short of their target of 191 runs in the IPL 2025 final against RCB.
'No one is bigger than cricket'
Iyer’s overconfidence led to a PBKS collapse that handed the maiden title to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and the former cricketer said that such lapses happen when a player thinks he is bigger than the game. He stated, “No one is bigger than cricket. And when a player starts thinking he’s a big deal, this is exactly what happens.”
The former Indian player reminded everyone that there were only two great finishers—MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh—so how had Iyer taken that risk when the team didn’t have reliable finishers in the team? He said that Iyer failed when it mattered the most.
The former World Cup winner’s father noted, “I've always said that India had only two great finishers: MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. They had the ability to win matches on their own, even from losing situations. They never made careless mistakes in big games.”
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I’m very angry with Shreyas Iyer: Yograj Singh
He admitted that PBKS reached the IPL 2025 final because of Iyer, but his careless shot cost the team the title as well. For Yograj, the captain alone was the real culprit behind Punjab’s loss in the final to RCB. Notably, Iyer finished this season with 604 runs in 17 games at a strike rate of 175.
Yograj signed off by saying, “So, tell me, Shreyas took Punjab to the final, but what did he do in the final? He played a reckless risk at the wrong time and cost his team the title. For me, the only criminal behind Punjab's defeat in the final is their captain. And honestly, I’m very angry with him.”
Chandigarh: Former Indian cricketer Yograj Singh says, "In yesterday's match, there was only one criminal — Shreyas Iyer, captain of the Punjab team... When you think you are so big, this is what happens..." pic.twitter.com/V97n9yOLub
— IANS (@ians_india) June 4, 2025 Read More Details
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