'I don't enjoy that': Shreyas Iyer drops 'backstabbing' bombshell after losing back-to-back title clashes as captain

Shreyas Iyer's aspirations of clinching a T20 trophy were once again dashed as his team, SoBo Mumbai Falcons fell short in the season-opening T20 Mumbai League final just a week after their IPL 2025 defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The final held at Wankhede Stadium on June 12, saw Iyer's team succumb to the Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals in a one-sided contest.

Aiming to conclude the month on a high note, Iyer guided SoBo Mumbai Falcons to the T20 Mumbai League final. However, his quest for redemption was thwarted at Wankhede Stadium where his team faced defeat against the Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals. In a disappointing repeat of his IPL final performance Iyer was unable to make a significant contribution with the bat failing to perform in a critical high-pressure situation.

Following the match, Shreyas Iyer contemplated the loss and described the experience of losing two finals consecutively as "pretty hectic."

“It’s pretty hectic (two finals in 10 days)," Shreyas said after the match, as quoted by Cricbuzz. “Especially when you lose, it runs in your mind a lot. The way everyone turned up in numbers was outstanding to see. The whole stadium was electrifying. Thank you so much for coming and supporting (to the fans)," he added.

When questioned regarding the performance, Iyer stated that he did not wish to hold anyone responsible for the loss.

“Don’t want to pinpoint any particular incident. “Overall the boys were brilliant with their efforts. We just lost one game on the way to the final. Just a one-off game where you can’t pinpoint on anyone – it’s basically backstabbing and I don’t enjoy that. We have learnt a lot. Pretty common to feel dejected after losing the final. It must hurt them," he added.

Shreyas Iyer did not perform well in the tournament. He failed to exceed 25 runs in any of the five matches. In the final, he managed only 12 runs off 17 balls.

In the match, the Falcons batted first, accumulating a total of 157 runs. Mayuresh Tandel contributed an unbeaten 50, while Harsh Aghav added 45 not out. On the other hand, the Maratha Royals successfully chased down the target, led by Chinmay Rajesh Sutar with 53 runs and Awais Khan Naushad with 38 runs. They achieved the target with 4 balls remaining.

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