Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has tipped Shreyas Iyer to become India’s next captain after Rohit Sharma. Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to glory as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL final by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.
Iyer was able to lead from the front and played an instrumental role in the team’s success as a leader. The KKR captain was spot-on with his field placements and bowling changes throughout the season. Moreover, he scored 351 runs in 14 innings at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 146.86 in IPL 2024.
“I am going to say it here. He is going to be the future India captain. I think he is next in line, maybe even ahead of Shubman Gill. He has got the character and wherewithal to handle a team. I think there’s a lot he has learnt this season. You have got to understand that he was working with Gautam Gambhir, Chandrkant Pandit and Abhishek Nayar – three very strong personalities,” Uthappa said about Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy on JioCinema.
While the support staff of head coach Chandrakant Pandit, mentor Gautam Gambhir, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, bowling coach Bharat Arun, and fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate deserves a lot of credit, Uthappa added that Iyer had to navigate through these strong personalities to get the desired result.
“You have to navigate your way through these strong personalities throughout the season while having your way, and learning on the run. That’s not easy to navigate through an entire IPL season while performing, giving your best and making the right calls. He has done that with utter dominance. That tells you a lot about his character and what he believes he is capable of. I think because of that, he sets himself up in the right space to be in the conversation for the next Indian captain,” Uthappa further added.
Meanwhile, Iyer had a great run in the ODI World Cup 2023 but could not deliver in two Test matches against England. He suffered a back injury and then was left out of BCCI’s central contract list of players but despite all these setbacks, he got the job done for KKR.
“Even after going through a lot, the back injury, the World Cup snub, not getting a central contract – a lot of conjecture about what was happening with him. He barely spoke about it, I think just before the final, he touched upon it. I think that goes to show he has got his sight clear on what he is going to do for himself and the teams he plays for,” Uthappa said.
“I think it’s just the beginning of the leader that we are going to see Shreyas Iyer is going to be,” concluded the former KKR batter.
