IPL 2021: 5 Players who can captain Delhi Capitals in Shreyas Iyer’s absence
Shreyas Iyer has been one of the top players in the IPL for some time now. Hence, when the captaincy of the Delhi franchise came to him in the middle of the 2018 season, he responded by performing quite well with the bat and also showed his capabilities as a skipper.
Under Iyer’s leadership, Delhi entered the playoffs for the first time in 2019 since the 2012 season. They ended up being the third-ranked side in that tournament. Also, the franchise managed to qualify for the final for the first time in 2020.
In the latest turn of events, it has been revealed that Shreyas Iyer will miss the last two matches of the ongoing ODI series against England. The reports also stated that he might be sidelined for the entire IPL 2021 owing to his shoulder dislocation. Here is a look at five players who can step up to the plate in his absence.
1. Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane’s white-ball career seems to have taken a short dip. The Mumbai batsman plays as a specialist batter in Tests and hasn’t been around the ODI or T20I squad for some time. After having a mediocre IPL 2020, the right-hander travelled to Australia where he led the Indian team to a historic Test series win in Australia in the absence of Virat Kohli. With that series win, he proved once again how invaluable he can be as a leader.
Considering all these points, it does seem that Rahane would be the ideal pick as a captain in the Delhi Capitals line-up. Add to the fact that Rahane was a part of the XI which played the final of the 2020 season. His experience will only enhance Delhi’s unit which consists of some top-quality players.
2. Steve Smith
Steve Smith was bought by Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021 auction for INR 2.2 crores. The Australian player who was the captain of Rajasthan Royals in the 2020 season was released by the franchise ahead of the upcoming season. There has never been a question raised at Smith’s leadership qualities. The Australian was the captain of his national team until the highly infamous ball-tampering incident took that away from him.
Interestingly, Smith has led three teams in the IPL. He had captained now-defunct Pune Warriors India and Rising Pune Supergiant. In the 2017 season, he had led the Supergiant to the final of the IPL. If the situation arises, Smith would be a great option for leading the Capitals.
3. Prithvi Shaw
Times have changed quite quickly and dramatically for Prithvi Shaw. The Mumbai batsman was in the middle of a crisis, until a few days back. After a lean patch in the IPL, he went to Australia with the Indian team. A couple of failures in the first Test meant he was dropped out of that side as well. But, he turned around his fortunes once he reached India again and started to play some domestic cricket.
In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw was given the responsibility of leading the Mumbai side in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He not only led them to a title victory as an inspiring leader but also led from the front by scoring heaps of runs. He amassed more than 800 runs during the tournament, something no batsman has ever been able to do in the tournament. Add to that, the experience of leading India U-19 to a World Cup win, he seems like a good option to lead the Capitals team.
4. Shikhar Dhawan
As far as experience is concerned, no one in the Delhi Capitals has more of it in comparison to Shikhar Dhawan. The left-handed batsman has been with the franchise since his transfer from Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2019 season. He can lead the Delhi team given an opportunity as he is always ready to take responsibility for his team.
He has previously led his former franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and had started off as the captain for their side in the 2014 season. Ahead of the 2015 season, he quit the role by stating that he wants to focus more on his batting. However, since then whenever he has played an IPL match, he has always been a part of the leadership group, for both Delhi and Hyderabad.
5. Rishabh Pant
Like Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant was also in the middle of nowhere during the IPL season of 2020. His form had gone down significantly and he was going through quite a bad phase of his cricket career. However, his fortunes turned around when he got a chance to play for India in the Test series in Australia.
Since then, everything he has touched has turned into gold. Any different situation he has faced, he has overcome that with success. Considering his current mindset and how confident he is right now about his game, it won’t be a bad decision to make him a leader of the Delhi team.
