IPL 2021: Who will captain Delhi Capitals in absence of Shreyas Iyer? Check the list of options

With Shreyas Iyer likely to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 after suffering a labrum tear on his left shoulder during the first ODI between India and England in Pune, Delhi Capitals (DC) would have to appoint a new captain for the entire IPL or till the time Iyer makes his return from the latest injury setback.  

Iyer became the youngest captain in IPL when DC appointed him as the skipper of the franchise in the year 2018. But DC would now have to look for a new face to lead the franchise for IPL 2021. The franchise has some interesting and experienced campaigners to lead the side, and it would be interesting to see who gets appointed as the captain of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2021. 

Let us take a look at the list of names Delhi Capitals (DC) could appoint their next captain from, in the absence of Shreyas Iyer.

Former Australian captain Steve Smith was signed by Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 auction after the Aussie batsman was released by his former franchise Rajasthan Royals. While Smith has all the experience to lead teams, DC might not want to give the leadership duties to an overseas player and lean towards a domestic name. However, Smith remains one of the options to captain DC in IPL 2021. 

Ajinkya Rahane has come out as an astute leader. From leading India in the Test series against Australia and helping them win the historic series, Rahane has come a long way when it comes to leading the side. He has previously led Rajasthan Royals in IPL and DC management might give him the leadership duties in absence of Iyer in IPL 2021. 

Ravichandran Ashwin is hailed as one of the sharpest brains in the cricket fraternity. While Ashwin has previously led Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL, it would be interesting to see whether the veteran spinner gets the nod for captaincy duties for IPL 2021 in absence of Iyer. 

Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most experienced players in the Delhi Capitals set-up. He picked up his form where he left off last season. He currently the Orange Cap holder with 231 runs in four matches.  

He breached the 5000-run mark last year within 168 innings. 

Prithvi Shaw was the captain of India Under-19 team in 2018 which won the coveted trophy. Shaw recently led Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and relished under the pressure of captaincy with runs blazing from his bat. He ended up as the highest scorer in Vijay Hazare Trophy. DC have leaned towards younger captains and Shaw could be an interesting choice on cards. 

Rishabh Pant is arguably the hottest property in world cricket. From having the ability to change matches single-handedly to motivate his team from his chirping behind the stumps, Pant can be an out-of-the-box choice but recently, he has shown how good a cricket brain he has. The southpaw has improved leaps and bounds when it comes to his wicket-keeping and suggesting captains on taking the DRS. It is likely that Pant will end up being the captain of DC for IPL 2021.