Shreyas Iyer a good candidate for India captaincy after Rohit Sharma, says this KKR team-mate | Cricket News – Times of India
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One name which has done the rounds before is that of Shreyas Iyer, who will be returning from a long injury lay-off in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Shreyas is 28. His consistency with the bat has been key for India, his agility on the field and keeping an eagle eye in the slip cordon are the other boxes the 28-year-old Iyer has ticked to become a potential leader of the Indian team in the post-Rohit era.
So is Shreyas the best man to lead Team India once Rohit retires?
Rohit Sharma (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Afghanistan’s swashbuckling wicket-keeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz would like to see his Kolkata Knight Riders team-mate in a leading role in the Indian cricket team in the future.
“Hopefully, he (Shreyas) will become a good captain. He will be a good captain because he leads a team (KKR) in the IPL. The IPL is the biggest competition in the world. If he can lead a team in the IPL, he can lead any team in the world. India also. Rohit is there right now. India’s cricket quality is of a high level. If Shreyas leads a team in the IPL, that means he is good (as India captaincy material). There are a lot of players who didn’t get a chance to lead teams in the IPL. He got the chance which means he is a good captain. I am sure he will be a good captain for India,” Gurbaz told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview from Sri Lanka.
India recalled fit-again Shreyas, along with KL Rahul, to their one-day set-up for the Asia Cup.
Shreyas has returned from a back injury to join the 17-member squad led by Rohit Sharma for the tournament which starts on August 30.
While Shreyas’ return will hopefully end India’s search for a set batter at number four and if he performs well, then the right-hander will be an automatic choice for the ICC ODI World Cup.
While there is still a question mark over KL Rahul’s fitness, chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Shreyas is ‘fully fit’.
“I am really happy for him (Shreyas). After a long time, he has made it to the team. He is a key player. He is a very good player. That’s why he has been picked in the Indian side. He deserves it. We play together at KKR. He is a very good man. He is a very good captain, a young captain. He is young and dynamic,” Gurbaz, who has so far played 22 ODIs and 43 T20Is for Afghanistan, further told TimesofIndia.com.
Shreyas Iyer (BCCI Photo)
“India selectors, coaches, and cricket board are more experienced than me. They know how to pick players. India have an abundance of talent. Shreyas is a very good player. I hope he does well and gets selected for the World Cup as well,” the Afghanistan cricketer further said.
Gurbaz, who opens the batting for Afghanistan in ODIs is currently in Sri Lanka and playing the play ODI series against Pakistan, scored 18 in the first match which Pakistan won by a whopping 142 runs. The series is being broadcast on Eurosport.
After the ODI series, Afghanistan will be heading into the Asia Cup 2023. Afghanistan will open their Asia Cup campaign against Bangladesh on September 3 in Lahore and then face Sri Lanka on September 5 at the same venue.
“We are ready for this big tournament and big challenge (Asia Cup). We are playing Pakistan right now and we want to prepare for the big tournament. After this series, we will shift our focus to the Asia Cup and then the World Cup. We want to take it one step at a time. The Pakistan series is preparation for the Asia Cup,” Gurbaz said.
