Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper added another feather to his cap on Sunday after he emerged as only the fifth Indian captain to lead a team in 100 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. He achieved the milestone during his team’s clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday. 

With the feat in his kitty, Iyer joined an elite list featuring legendary cricketers such as MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. 

Iyer only captain to lead 3 IPL teams into finals

Iyer walked out for his 30th match as the captain of Punjab Kings in Dharamshala. Notably, he has also essayed the role of captain for Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in earlier seasons. The right-handed batter also holds a unique distinction in IPL history, as he remains the only captain to have guided three different franchises into an IPL final. 

He first took his team, DC into the IPL final in 2020 before lifting his maiden IPL trophy as captain with Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024. In the previous season, he steered Punjab Kings to only their second-ever IPL final, although the franchise failed to secure its maiden title after losing to RCB. 

Iyer began serving as a captain midway through the 2018 IPL season, when he took over leadership duties at DC. He led the franchise in 41 matches between 2018 and 2020 before later captaining KKR in 29 games from 2022 to 2024. 

Since joining Punjab Kings, Iyer has already captained the side in 30 matches. 

Dhoni dominates captaincy records

While Iyer stormed into the exclusive 100-match club, the all-time IPL captaincy record still belongs to MS Dhoni. The former skipper of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has led teams in a staggering 235 IPL matches, representing both CSK and the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant franchise. 

Although he stepped down as the captain, he remains part of the CSK squad in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. However, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter is yet to feature is the current season due to a side strain injury.