Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that IPL 2022 will be a good platform for youngsters to prove their talent to become India's future captaincy.
Follow Us
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has witnessed plenty of youngsters proving their talent and being fast tracked to the national team. However, former India coach Ravi Shastri, believes that IPL 2022 will be a chance for rising stars like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul to prove their captaincy prowess in order to become a successor for India’s all-format captain Rohit Sharma.
Pant-led Delhi Capitals to six wins out of eight matches in IPL 2021 before the tournament was indefinitely suspended due to Covid-19 breach. The table-toppers later lost to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the qualifier 1 and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the qualifier 2 of the second-phase held in UAE to finish at the third spot while prolific India opener and former Punjab Kings captain KL Rahulwill utilize his experience of leading the national team and IPL franchise to bring out of the best out the newcomers.
Iyer, meanwhile, will take over the baton from England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan to lead Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. However, Iyer is no stranger to the leadership role, as he led Delhi Capitals in the IPL from 2018 to 2020 and in doing so became the youngest player to captain the capital franchise.
“Virat is not being captain anymore, but Rohit has also been outstanding especially in white ball. India will be looking at who will be captaining the team (in future) — there is Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul.
“India will be looking for a solid captain for the future and here is the opportunity,” Shastri said on Tuesday (March 22) during a press conference organised by Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL 2022.
Hardik Pandya cleared the Yo-Yo test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and is all set to lead Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022. The development not only comes as a major boost for the Ahmedabad-based franchise but also for the Indian cricket team ahead of the T20 World Cup, starting from October 2022.
However, he has been out of the national team set-up since his last appearance against Namibia in the T20 World Cup on November 8, 2021 and recurring injuries have prevented him from bowling consistently over the last few years.
But Shastri believes that IPL 2022 will be a good chance for the all-rounder to make a comeback for the national team.
“The whole county would be very closely watching Hardik Pandya in the IPL, we all know what he is capable of,” Shastri said.
“Like Hardik there will be a lot of other players who are knocking at the doors of the Indian team.”
