Delhi Capitals (DC) surprised many with its decision to let Rishabh Pant stay as the captain of the side till the end of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) despite Shreyas Iyer returning back.
Notably, Pant was appointed Delhi Capitals (DC) captain earlier this year after Shreyas was ruled out due to a shoulder injury and the young wicketkeeper led the side brilliantly in the first half of the IPL 2021, as DC was leading the points table before the event is returned to the UAE.
After DC’s first game in the second leg of the IPL 14 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday, September 21, Iyer shared his thoughts after he was not given the captaincy. Though he didn’t allow affecting the decision and outside talks to his performance, as the right-hander contributed unbeaten 47 to DC’s successful chase of 135 against SRH in Dubai.
The 26-year-old said it was DC’s decision not to re-appoint him captain for the rest of the IPL 2021 and he completely respects that decision and insisted his mindset is the same as when he was captain.
Iyer said at the post-match press conference, “When I was given the captaincy, I was in a different frame of mind and my decision-making and temperament level was very good and I benefited from it in the last two years. This is part of the decision-making from the franchise or whatever decision they took, I respect the fact and Rishabh is leading the side well from the start of the season and they thought that he should be continued till the season end and I completely respect the decision.”
The aggressive batter continued, “And no drastic change has come that my focus has increased in batting. When I was captain, I like to soak in the pressure, when there is pressure, there are more challenges and, in such situations, I perform, that is my mindset.
Even today (Wednesday) when I went in, there was pressure to win the game. The wicket was playing unevenly, so the mindset is the same that being a main part of the team, you have to finish the match and whenever I play, my mindset is that I play till the last ball and see to it that I make the team win.”
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He also said it is a “really good feeling” to contribute to DC’s 8-wicket win over SRH on his comeback. Iyer added, “I wouldn't say that I'm satisfied because the hunger has just gone up and the appetite keeps on increasing every match you play, so yeah, not satisfied or not contained.”
On his injury period, Iyer said: “I have a very close-knit family and friends and they never made me feel that I was going through an injury. When I got injured, it was really difficult for me to adapt (to) the fact that I was injured because I keep doing so many activities here and there and I never think about that situation and that occurred, so it was really tough for me to adapt.”
He added, “They kept me busy and in a positive frame of mind and never made me feel that I am going through an injury. When the rehab started and I started gaining strength, that feeling was really amazing and that put me in a really good frame of mind that I will come back positive and strong.”
With the 8-wicket win over SRH, DC returned to the top of the IPL points table and Iyer stressed on the need to maintain the momentum in the tournament.
He signed off by saying, “When we came in here, we were still on the top of the table and we have to maintain the same rhythm that we created in the first half of the leg and the mindset has been really positive in the dugout.”
(With PTI Inputs)
