IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals to be led by Rishabh Pant upon Shreyas Iyer's absence

Delhi Capitals has been playing the Indian Premier League since 2008 with no title success to date. Rishabh Pant is one of the side's prolific wicketkeeper-batsman. Shreyas Iyer leads the side but has been ruled out indefinitely due to a partially dislocated shoulder.

Delhi Capitals would be eyeing its maiden title success in the Indian Premier League 2021. Meanwhile, it would aim to do so under its new skipper Rishabh Pant.

Pant has been roped in as the interim/replacement skipper for the side after Shreyas Iyer has been indefinitely ruled out. Iyer suffered a partially dislocated shoulder during the just-concluded One-Day Internationals against England.

As for Pant, it would be his maiden captaincy stint in the IPL. He was one of the favourites to be roped in as the interim/replacement skipper for Iyer, despite having senior guns in the side, like Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Incidentally, Pant would become the fifth-youngest to lead in the IPL at the age of 23. The other four are Virat Kohli & Steven Smith (22) and Suresh Raina & Iyer (23).

As for Pant'sperformance, he has been in a glorious form of late across formats, having led India to success in Australia and against England at home. His IPL performance was fair last year when he scored 343 runs in 14 innings at an average of 31.18. Overall, he has scored 2,079 runs in 68 at 35.24, including 12 50s and a ton.

"Delhi is where I grew up and where my IPL journey began six years ago. To lead this team one day is a dream I've always harboured. And today, as that dream comes true, I feel humbled," Pant was quoted as saying in a statement from DC.

"The previous two seasons under Shreyas' leadership have been incredible, and the results speak for themselves. This is a tremendous opportunity for young Rishabh, who is coming off successful stints against Australia and England, which will no doubt give him the confidence needed to take on a new role that comes with a lot more responsibility," said head coach Ricky Ponting.

"Delhi Capitals as a team plays a passionate and fearless brand of cricket, and Rishabh Pant embodies that best. The Delhi team has played an important role in his growth as a cricketer, just like he has played an equally important role in the growth of the Delhi team," concluded team chairman, Parth Jindal.