After the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) IPL 2026 comfortable victory against the Mumbai Indians (MI), former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has said that Shreyas Iyer is the new chase master. He added that the 31-year-old PBKS captain’s run-chase numbers are similar to none other than legendary Virat Kohli’s numbers as well.
Mumbai Indians, however, managed to post a 196-run target in the 24th game of IPL 2026 in Mumbai on Thursday, April 16. Shreyas Iyer scored 66 runs off 35 deliveries in the chase as they reached the target with seven wickets and 21 balls to spare.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “He is the new chase master. We talk about Virat Kohli. If we are attaching someone else’s name with him, it’s an achievement in itself, but the truth is that his numbers are like his. He has an average of 65 and a strike rate of 180 in chases in the last two years.”
“He goes after finishing the match. He got out this time, but the match was over. He had gotten out against Chennai as well, but the match was over. He has gotten out one or two times for sure, or else the average would have been 80. Shreyas is not knocking on the door. He is going to break it down. He is batting like that,” he shared again.
Shreyas Iyer has been in sublime form in the IPL 2026
In the same video, Aakash Chopra also applauded Prabhsimran Singh for playing a controlled knock in the Punjab Kings’ IPL 2026 clash against the Mumbai Indians as well.
“This kid is playing very well. He is generally a striker. He tries to play every ball aggressively, but he didn’t do that this time. He had scored 20 runs off 10 balls at the start for sure, he was going at a strike rate of 200, but a lot of overs had been bowled. He was happy sitting at the non-striker’s end. He said he would take it deep and wouldn’t throw his wicket,” he said.
“This was an innings of really high quality. You saw controlled aggression. The way he played Jasprit Bumrah, there was a backfoot punch towards cover, sometimes things happen, seeing which one says the guy is in form. It’s praiseworthy in itself if you hit a shot like that against Jasprit Bumrah,” he concluded.
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