IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant to continue as Delhi Capitals' skipper despite Shreyas Iyer's return - Reports

Shreyas Iyer’s injury ahead of the IPL 2021 came as a massive blow to the Delhi Capitals as not only Iyer was one of the mainstays of their batting lineup, but a very skilful leader as well. While Delhi had the likes of Steve Smith, who has vast experience of leading teams, they decided to hand over the reins to young Rishabh Pant. The move paid dividends as Pant led Delhi to six wins in eight games before the tournament was postponed due to COVID-19.

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Now with Iyer back for the UAE leg, the franchise is in dilemma to give the captaincy back to Shreyas Iyer or continue with Pant, who has done so well. If reports are to be believed, the management have agreed on letting Rishabh Pant lead the team in the remaining games as well. A source close to the franchise confirmed the development.

“While it is great news that Shreyas Iyer is fit again and ready to get back to action, it is understood that the DC management want to give him more time to recover. As a result, Pant will continue as captain, but only for the second half of IPL 2021.”

The Delhi Capitals’ contingent, barring the players who are busy in their international assignments, have reached UAE and have begun their preparations after serving quarantine. The team resume their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22 in Dubai.

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Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer on Monday said he is looking forward to don the Capitals’ jersey again while admitting that time away from the game was very difficult.

“Currently, I am feeling amazing, the journey was awesome, to be honest. I never hesitated for a while but right after the injury, I was sulking a bit and I didn't know exactly what to do. I went into the dressing room and cried and it took me a while to digest it but yeah, at the end of the day, you need to go through all of it.”

“It's a setback and you just have to push and come back strong. When I realized, I had to go under the knife, it was pretty hard to digest. The way I was training prior to the injury, I was at the highest level, at the peak and suddenly this freak injury happened,” he added.