India will need a new captain after a couple of years as current skipper Rohit Sharma is at the fag end of his career. Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, and Jasprit Bumrah are the top contenders to lead the national side in one or two formats of the game. However, Shreyas Iyer has come into contention after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to success in IPL 2024. He was hailed for making intelligent moves during the matches while also giving valuable contributions with the bat.
Former Chief Selector MSK Prasad recently spoke about the time his selection committee invested in Iyer. The young India player was expected to replace Virat Kohli and Rohit as a captain, but unfortunate injuries put him behind on the list.
“We had a succession plan ready for captaincy. We were looking for a player who could lead India post the MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma eras. Shreyas Iyer was groomed, and he led India A in close to ten series, winning eight. We invested in him, unlike Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
“He was unfortunately injured, and Rishabh Pant did well during that time. Prior to that, Iyer was Delhi Capitals’ captain, and working under the coaching of Ricky Ponting helped him. He did a good thing by joining Kolkata Knight Riders and was helped by the franchise. He looked at ease there. With young players like Iyer, you need a better support system to help them in leadership duties. I am sure Shreyas Iyer will become a good captain in two or three years,” MSK Prasad told Boria Majumdar.
Shreyas is currently out of the Indian team and was not considered for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The BCCI did not offer him a new central contract after the batter refused to play domestic cricket.
