Shreyas Iyer’s injury rattled Delhi Capitals as the batsman was ruled out of IPL 2021 with a dislocated shoulder that needed surgery. After much discussions and speculations, Rishabh Pant was made the captain of the tournament. While he did well with the backing of senior players including Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith and coach Ricky Ponting, taking the team to the top spot on Points Table with six wins in 8 matches, former India opener Aakash Chopra believes when the IPL 2021 resumes, Iyer will take charge from Pant, replacing him as the skipper.
“Hundred percent. There is no doubt about it. Fit and available, Shreyas Iyer walks in as a captain, bats at No 3. Then you can play Nortje alongside Rabada, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis. Suddenly the Delhi team, which is already very strong and is at No 1 at the moment, will become even more strong,” Aakash Chopra said answering questions from fans on his YouTube channel.
Shreyas Iyer was made the Delhi Capitals captain in 2018 after Gautam Gambhir midway through the season. Since then, he has been successful as DC skipper, leading the team to play-offs in IPL 2019 and final in the IPL 2020 where they lost to Mumbai Indians.
While Rishabh Pant’s fantastic last 7-8 months went in his favour, making him the youngest captain in IPL, he is still an acting captain and once Shreyas Iyer returns from injury, he will take over without a doubt according to Aakash Chopra.
“Rules are definitely not like that once you are ruled out, you cannot come back. When fit and available, come back and play,” Aakash Chopra added.
Since debuting in IPL 2015, scoring 439 runs in 14 matches for the Delhi franchise, he has been consistent. In the last four seasons, he has averaged over 300 runs, scoring at an average of 30+. The captaincy responsibility has also worked wonders for the young Mumbai batsman. In IPL 2020, Iyer scored 519 runs giving Delhi Capitals the solidity in the top-order.
Currently, Iyer is recovering and won’t unlikely to be available for India’s Tour of Sri Lanka in July for a 3-match ODI and T20I series. Rishabh Pant on the other hand will be with Team India in England for the 5-match England Test series during the time.
