Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the Delhi Capitals, is happy to have his leading batsman Shreyas Iyer back in the lineup for IPL-2021 in UAE leg, which starts on 19th September. Due to a shoulder injury received during the limited-overs series versus England, the outstanding batsman was forced to miss the 1st half of the IPL. But, following a good recovery, Iyer is preparing to play for the Capitals in the IPL’s UAE leg.
Iyer has been a solid middle-order performer for the Capitals over the last three seasons. In the 2020 season of the IPL, he also led the squad as captain. Understandably, Ponting is glad to have a world-class player like Iyer back in the lineup. “It’s great to have Shreyas back. He has got an infectious attitude,” Ponting told.
Shreyas Iyer going to add a lot to our team: Ponting
Rishabh Pant captained the side in the 1st half of the IPL 2021 in the unavailability of their first-choice captain wicketkeeper-batter. The team has won 6 games and is presently in first place in the standings. Many assumed that with Iyer’s return, the Capitals would restore him as captain, however that is not the fact; Pant will be the assigned captain for the rest of the tournament.
According to Ponting, Iyer will score runs and win a few games. “I have been talking to him a lot and his training has been great. He’s so keen to get back into the field, score runs, and win. He’s a world-class player and he’s going to add a lot to our team, there’s no doubt about that,” Ponting added.
Ponting went on to say that the unit looks well for the rest of the IPL season and that his players have shown tremendous attitude and effort throughout the pre-season camp.
“I have been waiting for four months to come back to the Delhi Capitals camp. I have such a great time when I work with the team and it’s a great time in my calendar year. I have been keeping a close eye on what’s been happening here. I have been speaking to the coaching staff here and they have done a great job so far (in the pre-season camp). You can see with the intensity and the attitude shown by the players that it’s been a really worthwhile camp so far. I am really excited about what we’ve got coming up in the next four-five weeks,” said the 46-year-old.
