Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has reckoned that Shreyas Iyer’s journey as a captain has been remarkable and that Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) future is bright under the leadership of this dynamic Indian cricketer.
Iyer was appointed the captain of KKR ahead of TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and he’s impressed everyone with the way he’s led the side so far.
While speaking during an episode of Cricket Live on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of TATA IPL, Pathan said: “Shreyas Iyer is a brilliant captain. Remember, he picked up captaincy midway through the season like Rohit Sharma who was named Mumbai Indians’ captain halfway through the season in IPL 2013.”
“For Delhi Capitals, Shreyas started well under the supervision of coach Ricky Ponting and he kept improving his decision-making skills in his first stint as captain. But his captaincy moves are coming to the fore prominently in this season and we will talk more about it as the tournament progresses. He’s a players’ captain,” he added.
The former India all-rounder, who scalped 80 wickets from 103 IPL matches before hanging his boot from the game, also felt that Iyer has signs of being a great captain as he backs his players well.
“He backs the players at every turn and which is a good sign of a leader. The future of Kolkata is bright under his supervision and we’ve seen glimpses of it in the first couple of games,” Pathan expressed.
KKR started the 2022 season on a bright note as the Iyer-led side registered a six-wicket win over Ravindra Jadeja-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK), one of the most successful IPL side and last year’s winner. KKR however, tatsed defeat in their second game of the season as the Purple Army endured a three-wicket loss against the Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on March 30 (Wednesday).
KKR will now take on the Mayank Agarwal-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their third game of the ongoing season at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday (April 1) before locking horns against five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Puneon April 6 (Wednesday).