Preity Zinta and Shreyas Iyer of Punjab Kings during the qualifier 1 match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur. (Sportzpics)Shreyas Iyer said he had no clue how he had landed with the nickname Sarpanch Sahab, but said he was recently stopped on the road and told by 5 Punjab youth that if he pulled the IPL title for Punjab Kings they would name the nearby road after him.
In a fun interaction with Preity Zinta, who asked him how a Mumbai boy who went to Kolkata wound up becoming a Punjabi, and earned the moniker of Sarpanch Saab, he said, “This tag of sarpanch saab (Zinta said it somehow felt organic), Seriously I have no idea. No clue how I got this name. I think it
came from the management. They gave me this tag…and it’s just tagged along.”
Iyer is the biggest Tamilian pulled by Punjab as their own, since their multiple Nationals winning state basketball coach, the late Subramanian Sir.
𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐒𝐀𝐀𝐁, Bas Jeetna Hai! 🏆♥️ pic.twitter.com/7qtyFW4N4Y
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) June 3, 2025
Iyer also recalled a funny incident associated with the name Sarpanch. “Whenever I go out in Punjab, when I went out in Chandigarh and out of the hotel, they say Sarpanch Saab ek picture le lo..so those incidents have happened.”
In one such, a group of fans declared with typical expansive Punjabi emotion they would name streets after him. “When we were coming back from the ground in our innova. They saw me sitting in the car at signal, so this car with 5 guys came and they said Sarpanch Saab iss saal jeeta dena. Yaha ka ek rastaa aapke naam kar denge,” he chucked.
The name had taken off under a cloud of controversy. The OG Sarpanch Saab is Indian double Olympics bronze winning hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, the drag flick and PC giant. But commentator Sunil Taneja who made it famous, responded to the post by saying, “I know a little about how that name came about.”
Other PBKS fans also offered the ‘Khicchhkee Sarpancha’, an MLA seat, as well as lifetime Sarpanchship. A pind called Sarpanch Shreyas Singh Nagar was also promised to the captain. He has been told to “gear kheech ke rakhna” – hit the high notes.
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