Shreyas Is A Born Leader, He Commands Respect: David Hussey

Former Aussie cricketer & Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor David Hussey believes that new skipper Shreyas Iyer has an excellent cricketing intellect and has proven his credentials as a skipper throughout his tenure with the Delhi Capitals (DC) prior to the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The 27-year-old batsman, who guided the Capitals to the IPL 2020 final, was purchased by the two-time winners at the super auction the previous month for a record Rs 12.25 cr. Iyer has been selected as captain of the KKR over the Australian captain Pat Cummins for the forthcoming tournament.

Shreyas has a very good cricket brain: David Hussey

“Shreyas is a born leader, just the way he walks around, he commands respect. Knowing Pat (Cummins) really well, he would be a good deputy and would also lead from the front,” Hussey said in an Interaction.

“But the way Shreyas Iyer has captained in the past for Delhi, he has a very good cricket brain and a nice vision of how to play the game and I think he will express himself really well. I think it’s a smart move from Brendon (McCullum) and KKR management,” he added.

In terms of Iyer’s performance in the IPL, the right-handed batsman has appeared in 87 games, scoring 2375 runs at a respectable avg of 31.67. Iyer has a strike rate of nearly 124 and has hit 16 50s in the competition.

Hussey also stated that he will not make too many ideas to the right-hander because he understands what he is doing. “The best coaching is to just leave the good players alone, let them go where they work. He is in rare form at the moment. I don’t know him, I’m getting to know him, but he comes across as a true leader and a person who knows his game really really well,” said Hussey.

Furthermore, in the competition kickoff on March 26, KKR will face defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). It’s likely to be a nail-biter between the previous year’s finalists.