The Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has recalled the time when he was the ball boy during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede Stadium.

During a clash between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), it was his first experience of the competition and New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, who played for RCB, also had a brief interaction with him.

Shreyas Iyer who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third title and first in 10 years last year and also led Delhi Capitals to the finals, will be aiming to replicate the same magic with PBKS when they kickstart their campaign against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium.

Speaking to the media, “I grew up playing street cricket in my area, and at that time, I was playing for Mumbai’s U-14 team. All the kids from the Mumbai squad were assigned to be ball boys, and It was my first experience of IPL up close.”

“I remember being shy and reserved, but I was lucky to be one of them. With my friends approaching players, I felt left out and decided to try too.”

“Ross Taylor was one of my favorite players back then, so I went up to him and said, ‘Sir, I am a big fan of yours.’ He was very sweet and thanked me. Back then, it was common to ask for a bat or gloves, but I was too shy to ask, even though I really wanted to,” said Shreyas Iyer.

“I vividly remember Irfan Pathan standing at long-on. He sat next to us and asked if we were enjoying the match. We told him we were having a lot of fun and were thrilled to see him.”

“At that time, Irfan bhai was very popular, and the Punjab team had some of the most good looking boys, including Yuvi pa (Yuvraj Singh). It’s a memory that has stayed with me even after so many years,” added Iyer.

Shreyas Iyer made his debut in 2015 scoring 3,127 runs at an average of 32.23, with a strike rate of 127.47 with 21 fifties. During his first season in 2015 with Delhi Capitals, he won the ‘Emerging Player’ award for scoring 439 runs in 14 matches at an average of 33.77 with four fifties.

He started his first captaincy stint with DC in 2018 and led the team to finals in 2020. In 2022, he moved to KKR and he won the 2024 season with them under mentorship of Gautam Gambhir.

He will be leading Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL 2025 season. They will play their first match against Gujarat Titans on March 25 at Narendra Modi Stadium.