IPL 2022: Eight potential captaincy prospects for two new teams

2. Shreyas Iyer

The ex-captain of the Delhi Capitals was injured on the field and had to undergo surgery. This led him to miss IPL 2021 and the captaincy duties were handed to Rishabh Pant. Furthermore, after Shreyas returned to the Delhi set up in the second half of the IPL 2021, the management chose to keep Pant as their regular captain. As a result, Shreyas requested that Delhi to not retain him prior to the mega auction, and Delhi management accepted his proposal and decided not to retain him for the future.

Shreyas can be an excellent captaincy prospect for the two new franchises. He worked on polishing his captaincy skills under Ricky Ponting who is regarded as one of the best captains in the World. Shreyas can put forth all his captaincy experience in the new franchise and can build a strong team. His records are also impressive after he took over reins of DC from Gautam Gambhir and has led the team to two consecutive playoff appearances in 2019 and 2020. He also helped them reach the finals in 2020, where they were defeated by the Mumbai Indians.

Shreyas can serve as the pivot of the two new franchises’ batting units. Given his progress in the format, he could be a hot property enough to make it to the auction tables. During the middle overs, he provides the necessary impetus to the batting lineup and can bash the spinners at will. Shreyas, who is still in the early stages of his career, can be considered a future brand ambassador for the new franchises.