It's great to have Shreyas Iyer back, he has got an infectious attitude: Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting is ecstatic to have his lead batter Shreyas Iyer back in the team for the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL), set to begin from September 19. The Mumbai batter had to miss the first half of the IPL due to a shoulder injury he sustained during the limited-overs series against England. But after a successful recovery, Iyer is gearing up to play for the Capitals during the UAE leg of IPL.

Over the past few seasons for the Capitals, Iyer has performed well in the middle-order. He also captained the team in the 2020 edition of the IPL. Naturally, Ponting is happy to have a world-class player as Iyer back among the mix.

“It’s great to have Shreyas back. He has got an infectious attitude,” Ponting told DC when asked about Iyer’s return to the side, as quoted by the HT.

In the absence of their first-choice skipper wicketkeeper-batter, Rishabh Pant led the team in the first half of the IPL 2021. The franchise have won six games and currently sits first on the points table. With the return of Iyer, many speculated that the Capitals will reinstate him as the captain but, that is not the case as Pant will be the designated captain at least till the remainder of the tournament.

Ponting is confident of Iyer will score runs and win few games of his own. “I have been talking to him a lot and his training has been great. He’s so keen to get back into the field, score runs, and win. He’s a world-class player and he’s going to add a lot to our team, there’s no doubt about that,” Ponting added.

Ricky Ponting happy with the energy shown by boys during pre-season camp

Ponting further opined that the team is shaping up well for the remainder of the IPL and feels his players have shown great attitude and intensity during the pre-season camp.

“I have been waiting for four months to come back to the Delhi Capitals camp. I have such a great time when I work with the team and it’s a great time in my calendar year. I have been keeping a close eye on what’s been happening here. I have been speaking to the coaching staff here and they have done a great job so far (in the pre-season camp). You can see with the intensity and the attitude shown by the players that it’s been a really worthwhile camp so far. I am really excited about what we’ve got coming up in the next four-five weeks,” said the 46-year-old.