Delhi Capitals (DC) has announced that wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will continue to lead the side in the upcoming remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season despite the availability of regular skipper Shreyas Iyer.
Notably, it was under iyer when DC had reached the final of IPL 2020.
“JSW-GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals today announced that Rishabh Pant will continue as captain for the remainder of the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League,” read an official statement from the franchise.
Earlier, Pant was appointed captain of DC before the start of the 2021 edition of the IPL after Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to a left shoulder injury, which he had sustained during the first ODI against England in March this year.
Under Pant, DC are currently leading the IPL 2021 points-table and have registered six wins and suffered just two defeats from eight matches.
Later, due to the postponement of the league to due to Covid-19 meant that Iyer got ample time and space to recover from his injury. Iyer will now make a comeback to competitive cricket after a gap of six months.
DC currently have 12 points in the league and are followed by CSK, RCB and MI at the second, third and fourth place respectively.
The next four places are occupied by Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, which has managed just a solitary win from seven games it played in the first half.
With 380 runs, DC’s Shikhar Dhawan is the leading run-getter in the tournament while RCB’s Harshal Patel tops the charts for leading wicket-takes after scalping 17 wickets from seven games so far.
A total of 31 matches, which are remaining in this year’s season, is slated to be completed with the final on October 15.
Significantly, the IPL 2021 season was postponed indefinately due to the emergence of multiple Covid-19 positive cases in the tournament’s bio-bubble during the second leg in May first week.
Later on May 29, the BCCI had announced that the remaining matches of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) remaining matches will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the months of September-October.
“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced to complete the remaining matches of VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 season in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) considering the monsoon season in India in the months of September-October this year,” a statement from the Indian Cricket Board had said.
“The decision was taken at a Special General Meeting (SGM) held virtually, where members unanimously agreed to resume IPL,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the board also spoke to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India in October-November.
“The BCCI SGM further authorised the Office Bearers to seek an extension of time from the ICC to take an appropriate call on the hosting of ICC T20 World Cup 2021,” the statement had said further.
The Capitals will resume their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on September 22.