IPL 2021: 3 big reasons why Rishabh Pant should continue as Delhi Capitals captain ahead of Shreyas Iyer – Captain of the Delhi side for the last three years, Shreyas Iyer, missed out on the IPL 2021 phase 1 due to a shoulder injury that he suffered during England’s tour of India just ahead of the season. His deputy Rishabh Pant, who was in top-notch form in international cricket was given the opportunity to lead Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021. Pant led the side beautifully with six wins in eight games in the first half of the IPL. Delhi Capitals was the table-toppers in the first leg. However, due to the breach of bio-bubble IPL 2021 was suspended and now that Iyer is fit to lead DC again, there is a big dilemma in front of the Delhi Capitals’ team management (Ricky Ponting)- Whether to bring back Iyer as a captain or continue with Pant.
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However, looking at Rishabh Pant’s form, Capitals’ table position and support for Pant in the coaching staff – It is most likely that Pant will continue to lead DC in IPL 2021 phase 2.
1. Rishabh Pant leading from the front
Rishabh Pant, who was infamous for playing bad shots after getting set, has evolved as a batsman in the last few months. Ever since his heroics in India tour of Australia, he has taken his batting to another level. This can be seen in IPL as well where Pant scored 213 runs in 8 games at an average of 35.50 and an explosive strike rate of 131.48. The left-hand batsman has also scored two fifties in the 8 games. Pant is enjoying the captaincy and it will be a big pushback for Pant if the DC team mangement decides to remove Pant from captaincy and bring back Iyer in his place.
Read more – IPL 2021 Phase 2: CSK, MI, RCB, SRH, PBKS, DC, RR, KKR to leave for UAE on these dates- All you need to know
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2. Delhi Capitals on Top
Delhi Capitals were the finalist in the last edition of the league. They missed out on a golden chance of clinching their maiden IPL title in 2020. However, they started IPL 2021 on high by winning six out of their eight games. Change in captaincy did not change their performance at all. And as they say,” Don’t try to fix something that is not broken.” So it is most likely that DC will continue with Rishabh Pant as their leader. This will also give Shreyas Iyer a chance to play freely, without any pressure as he will be making comeback to cricket after almost 6 months.
3. Solid coaching staff to support Rishabh Pant
Former Australia captain and the coach of Delhi Capitals Ricky Ponting is a big fan of Risabh Pant. Time and again he has praised Indian wicket-keeper. Heaping praise on Pant, Ponting said, “There will always be question marks on his keeping, but he works hard on his keeping and his batting is just brilliant. The way I saw him keeping on those turning wickets against England, he kept better than I thought he could. Brilliant bloke to have in your team to be in the contest.”
“Pant is like Virat Kohli or Kane Williamson, if you know he is there at the end, you are going to win more matches,” the 46-year-old Ricky Ponting told cricket.com.au.
Backing from the head coach means that Pant is most likely to continue as the captain of Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2021 phase 2.
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