Shreyas Iyer Dominates: Most Runs by Non-Openers in IPL Since 2025

So the upcoming tours of Ireland and England are basically right there, rapidly approaching, and the Indian selection committee has to deal with that same old high stakes puzzle, again. It’s that familiar issue of forming a T20 international middle order that doesn’t exactly freeze when pressure arrives. For years now India’s T20 plan has been struggling with the absence of bold intent outside the powerplay , it feels like the batting often leans too much on top order anchors , who then find it a bit hard to switch tempos properly.

But honestly the answer has been sitting in front of everyone, during all of the IPL 2026 season , like staring. Shreyas Iyer is in the middle of a spectacular, high octane transformation. Not just a calming, stabilizing presence anymore, the more fluent batsman has turned into this full on middle order havoc creator. The numbers back it up, clearly and loudly, so his spot for the coming overseas T20 assignments feels like an absolute requirement, no debates.

Outperforming the World’s Best Finisher Machines

When it comes to hitting outside the opening positions in modern T20 cricket, the yardstick for pure mayhem has long been fixed by overseas destroyers like South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen and England’s Jos Buttler. Still, if you check the board for the most runs by non-opening batsmen in the IPL from the beginning of the 2025 season, you get this wild, almost unreal twist, a brand new ruler appears up top:

Shreyas Iyer: 1,102 runs | 174 Strike Rate

Heinrich Klaasen: 1,093 runs | 165 Strike Rate

Jos Buttler: 1,007 runs | 159 Strike Rate

Most run by non opener batsmen since 2025 in the IPL :

Shreyas Iyer -1102 (174 strike rate)

Heinrich Klassen-1093 (165 strike rate)

Jos Butler-1007 (159 strike rate)

Shreyas Iyer deserves to be a part of the squad in Ireland and England T20 series.pic.twitter.com/HB93M9hq7w

— Soman. (@Shreyasian96) May 25, 2026

Hitting Big from Ball One

For a long time, people kind of thought Shreyas Iyer could only play slow, like, to protect the team when wickets were down. They even called him an “anchor” because he was not hitting a bunch of big sixes early in his innings, sort of a patient vibe. But then, recently in the IPL, his batting has changed the whole story, for real.

Now he’s out there playing with absolute power. It does not matter if the other side brings in tricky spin bowlers, or super fast bowlers near the end, he’s smashing them anyway for boundaries. Just a few days ago, he scored a brilliant 101 runs and stayed unbeaten against the Lucknow Super Giants. He looked fearless, full of huge confidence, took smart chances, and didn’t let the bowlers mess with his head, at all.

Why the Indian Team Needs Him Now

India is set to play important T20 matches soon in Ireland and England. And to win in those places, the team really needs middle order batsmen who can hit the ball hard right away. Also they have to use the smaller grounds , get those easy sixes, and pile up runs very quickly.

Shreyas fits this perfectly, honestly. He can charge down the pitch to hit spinners, and he also deals with pace bowling with total ease, like it’s nothing. Right now he’s playing the best cricket of his life , scoring quicker than basically anyone else. Because he is in this incredible form, the team selectors just cannot ignore him, not for the upcoming games. In fact, at this moment, nobody is hitting with more power and clear intent than Shreyas Iyer.