I will do everything to see the IPL dream of our fans come true: Shreyas Iyer

India middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is all set to make a comeback in the second half of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is scheduled to begin on September 19 in the UAE. He will play for Delhi Capitals, who are currently ranked number one on the points table. But things didn’t go well for the 26-year-old, who admitted to feeling a bit low during a tough rehabilitation period after a shoulder injury on March 23.

Iyer was out of action for close to five months and missed the entire first half of the IPL which was held in India. But as fate would have it, he is set to return in the UAE leg of IPL and will be hoping to go one step further this time around with the Capitals side. The franchise finished runners-up in the 2020 edition of IPL when Iyer-led Capitals lost to Mumbai Indians.

“Unfortunately, IPL had to be stopped mid-season, but it has presented me with the opportunity again and I will, as a player and as someone who understands the DNA of our team, will do everything in my role to see the dream of our fans come true,” Shreyas told the New India Express.

When quizzed whether he would be comfortable playing under the leadership of Rishabh Pant for Capitals, Iyer avoided the question in a smart way and said, “I would reckon our first-half performance this season is a result of the environment we had created in 2019 and 2020. Last year, we came so close to winning IPL,” Shreyas said.

Leadership role in the Delhi Capitals team helped me to be a better cricketer: Shreyas Iyer

The Mumbai batter also said that the captaincy role in the Capitals team allowed him to develop man-management skills and become a better cricketer. “Captaincy at Delhi Capitals has made me a better cricketer. I look at things, situations, the sport differently. It has improved my temperamental skills, my man-management skills as a leader. Ricky Ponting has been very supportive on that,” he said.

The 26-year-old further concluded by saying that he is not bothered about the competition and is concentrating more on scoring runs for the team during IPL. “Competition has always been in Indian cricket and will always be. It is a competitive sport after all. But for me, it won’t be an understatement to say that I have a bigger appetite now,” said Iyer who has scored 1363 runs in 51 white ball games.