IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant To Remain Delhi Capitals Captain For The Remaining Season: Reports

Updated - 30 Aug 2021, 05:16 PM

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer
Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer. (Photo: IPL)

Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant is likely to continue as the captain of Delhi Capitals (DC) in the second phase of the IPL 2021.

Pant was appointed the captain of the Capitals after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury he suffered during an ODI match between India and England in March.

But the Mumbai batsman has recovered after going under shoulder surgery and was given clearance by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to play for the remaining matches of IPL.

Rishabh Pant will continue as captain but only for the second half of IPL 2021: Anonymous Source

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant of Delhi Capitals (Photo-BCCI)

There were speculations that Iyer could take back the captaincy while making his return to IPL, but according to sources the team management wants Iyet to take his time and will continue with Pant as the team’s leader for IPL 2021.

“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 wants to give him more time to recover. As a result, Pant will continue as captain, but only for the second half of IPL 2021, a source said, as reported by Sportskeeda. 

I was sulking a bit and I didn’t know exactly what to do: Shreyas Iyer

Iyer, who took over the captaincy reins from Gautam Gambhir in the middle of the 2018 season, took the franchise to its new heights by qualifying for play-offs in back to back seasons and last year they ended as runners-up to Mumbai Indians.

Iyer recalled the time when he got to knew about his injury and his reaction was a bit emotional but the surgery part was tough for the Indian batsman.

“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,” Iyer told Sports Today. 

Shreyas IyerShreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer (Image Credit: Twitter)

“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.

Delhi Capitals will resume their IPL 2021 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22.

Also Read: I Just Want To Keep Going Beyond My Abilities – Shreyas Iyer Ready To ‘Do Anything’ To Be Part Of

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