With the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League 2022 around the corner, former Aussie all-rounder and current Kolkata Knight Riders mentor David Hussey feels that the franchise’s newly-appointed captain Shreyas Iyer has proven his mettle with his top-notch performances for the Delhi Capitals in the past.
Iyer was picked up by KKR at the IPL 2022 Mega Auctions for a whopping price of Rs 12.25 Crore, and was subsequently named captain, proving to be the first-choice option ahead of Australian Test side captain Pat Cummins.
England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan, who led the Knight Riders to a final berth in the previous edition of the IPL despite his poor batting form, was let go by the management, and went unsold during the mega auction.
Iyer has a mighty impressive record in the Premier League, having played 87 matches in his career so far and scoring 2375 runs at an excellent average of 31.67. He has a strike rate of nearly 125 and has scored 16 half-centuries in his IPL career.
“The way Shreyas has captained in the past for Delhi, he has a very good cricket brain and a nice vision of how to play the game and I think he will express himself really well.
I think it’s a smart move from Brendon McCullum and KKR management. Shreyas is a born leader, just the way he walks around, he commands respect.
Knowing Pat really well, he would be a good deputy and would also lead from the front.”
said Hussey as he hailed the management’s decision of appointing Iyer as the captain.
On March 26, The Knight Riders will take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings in a repeat of last season’s final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. However, things will be a bit different as legendary captain MS Dhoni has passed the baton to Ravindra Jadeja, who will lead Chennai, whereas Dhoni will continue as a player for this season and ‘beyond’, as per the CSK official statement.
