Cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra rebuked Delhi Capitals on their decision to continue Rishabh Pant as the team’s captain.
On Thursday, Delhi Capitals on their social media handles announced that Pant will remain the captain for the remainder of the IPL 2021 season.
? OFFICIAL STATEMENT ?
JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals today announced that Rishabh Pant will continue as Captain for the remainder of the #IPL2021 season.#YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/yTp2CZHqYj
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) September 16, 2021
The decision comes after Shreyas Iyer, who was the official captain, returned to the team after recovering with full fitness.
Ahead of the IPL 2021, Iyer had injured his shoulder in an ODI match against England, which ruled him out of the Delhi Capitals squad. Pant was appointed as the stand-in skipper of the team.
Chopra was not happy with the team management’s decision as he questioned that just because Pant is performing well in international cricket, is that the reason Iyer has been sidelined.
“Rishabh Pant is the captain. It’s OK but personally, I didn’t like that decision,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“You decide on one captain, appoint him, he stays with you for 2-3 years, takes the team to the final, he gets injured, you bring in a stand-in captain and then you say let’s stay with the stand-in; ‘Because he’s doing well in international cricket, Shreyas, you can wait’,” he added.
Under Pant, Delhi Capitals maintained their form as they won six out of their eight matches in the first leg of the tournament and are also leading the charts so far. Chopra feels that the Capitals are just two victories shy of booking their berth in the playoffs.
“In their last IPL in the UAE, they were brilliant. They were one of the first teams to qualify. Yes, they lost to MI four times but reached the finals which was their best season. Can they get better than that?” Chopra asked.
“They just have to win two matches and they’ll qualify so there’s no doubt this team will reach the final four,” he remarked.
Delhi Capitals will play against Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22 in Dubai.