Former Indian Cricketer Robin Uthappa highlights Shreyas Iyer as being the next captain of the Indian team as the latter has showcased his performance in this 2024 IPL edition. Iyer led his side to win their third IPL championship title on the 26th of May. Uthappa mentions how Shreyas Iyer showed himself in handling a dressing room full of star players and maintaining the composure to get everyone on the same page.
Shreyas Iyer is going to be the future India captain- Shreyas Iyer
While speaking to Jio Cinema after KKRs win over SRH, this is what Robin Uthappa said about Shreyas Iyer:
“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 learned this season.”
Uthappa also stated how he (Shreyas Iyer) was dealing with big personalities like Gautam Gambhir, Abhishek Nayar, and Chandrakant Pandit. Iyer’s decision-making capabilities around such big names is what hints Uthappa as Iyer being the captain of the Indian squad next to Rohit Sharma.
Robin Uthappa on Shreyas Iyer’s struggles coming into IPL 2024
Even though Shreyas Iyer delivered a sensational performance in the 2023 World Cup where he scored 500 runs, he was out of the central contract. He was struggling with his fitness and several other reports regarding dissatisfaction from the board might have affected him psychologically, as per Uthappa.
The former cricketer praised Shreyas to the fullest despite the distractions he faced and leading his side to victory title. On this he stated:
“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.”
While Rohit Sharma is already 37 years of age, it will be interesting to see the next captain lineup. Given Iyer losing his spot in the test cricket and T20, it would rather be fascinating to see whether the board adopts a split captaincy rule or continue with the all-format theory.