"Shashank approached me.." Shreyas Iyer reveals planning behind surprise entry of Chhota Sarpanch against SRH

When Shashank Singh was given the ball, the match turned for Punjab Kings. When Travis Head (38) and Abhishek Sharma (74) were batting, the projected score was somewhere from 230 to 240. But then Shreyas Iyer introduces Shashank. The explosive "chhota Sarpanch" has not been used by the side as a bowler much. In 2024, he took one wicket but went wicketless in 2025. And in this match, today he bagged two crucial wickets of Abhishek and Head.

During the post-match presentation, the Player of the Match, aka the skipper of the Punjab Kings, Shreyas, revealed that it was Shashank himself who approached Shreyas asking for the ball. Speaking to former Indian cricketer turned commentator Anjum Chopra, Shreyas appreciated that the SRH batters have been going "bonkers," and they needed a breakthrough.

During the strategic timeout, Shashank asked the ball, and the head coach, Ricky Ponting, asked for Shreyas' opinion. Iyer accepted that he needed someone who could lower the speed and bowl around 120 kmph. And Shashank sounded like the right guy for the side. Iyer said,

"All of us came together, and Shashank approached me, give me an over. Ricky came and asked me, what's your thought? I said I'll go with Shashank - I need someone to take the pace off. He lived up to his expectations, he lived up to what he said, kudos to him."

Read also: IPL 2026: Priyansh Arya Creates Never-Before Record for PBKS with Explosive First Over vs SRH

Shashank Singh contributes to Punjab's win

Notably, the commentators, including the former SRH bowling coach Dale Steyn, were talking to James Hopes, the PBKS bowling coach, who said that Shashank sometimes has bowling net sessions in the PBKS camp. He primarily follows instruction based on lower-order batting. However, Steyn candidly remarked on Shashank as "lazy," claiming he bowled regularly while he was with SRH.

Notably, Punjab Kings won against Sunrisers Hyderabad, with Shashank contributing a crucial 16 runs off 9 balls, hitting a six and a four providing support to Shreyas while chasing 220 runs. PBKS got an early start from Priyansh Arya (57) and Prabhsimran Singh (51). Despite quick dismissals of Cooper Connolly and Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas held the wicket on the other side, stood unbeaten for 69 runs, and won the match with a boundary in the final ball.