Shreyas Iyer, now a cornerstone of India’s middle order, never imagined himself chasing cricketing glory as a child. Unlike most Indian kids, he didn’t grow up idolizing cricketers or glued to televised matches. “I never really watched cricket as a kid,” he revealed on the iQOO Quest Talk podcast with Nipun Marya. “For my dad, cricket was everything, but for me, it was about playing, not watching.”
While his father immersed himself in every game, young Shreyas leaned towards other sports — cycling, tennis, football, even Formula One. “I never really enjoyed watching cricket with intensity,” he recalled with a grin. But the moment he picked up a bat and stepped on the ground, the story changed. “Playing the game gave me a different thrill. That’s when I knew cricket was something I wanted to live, not just watch.”
His real break arrived at Shivaji Park Gymkhana, where coach Pravin Amre recognized his flair and raw ability. Under Amre’s mentorship, Shreyas transitioned from being a casual player to one with ambition and focus. His dominant displays in domestic cricket — particularly the 2015 Ranji Trophy — paved the way for his IPL debut, thrusting him into the spotlight.
By 2017, Shreyas had made his international debut for India and quickly cemented himself in the middle order. He announced his arrival with his maiden T20I half-century against Bangladesh in 2019. Since then, he has become known for his flair, including lightning-quick fifties in 22 and 30 balls in the IPL, along with standout performances on the global stage, such as during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Looking back on his captaincy stints, he remarked: “I never imagined I would captain three IPL teams to the finals,” a feat no one had accomplished before.
Injuries and setbacks came along the way, but Shreyas’s response was always the same — big, match-winning innings that reinforced his reputation for resilience.
For him, cricket has never been a sport defined by statistics or by passively watching. “Cricket became real only when I stepped onto the field. That’s where the magic began.”
From a boy who once avoided cricket on television to becoming the pulse of India’s batting order, Shreyas Iyer’s story proves that true passion isn’t always sparked by fandom — sometimes it is born out of playing, stumbling, and rising stronger each time
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