Former India cricketer heaps praises on Shreyas Iyer, predict Iyer as future captain

Also, with Rohit Sharma being 35 now, India need a future leader who can carry the baton. We have seen the likes of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul captaining India in some series, and that gives a clear indication of the thought process.

But amid the names of Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul to take over the reins, former India cricketer Maninder Singh has brought in Shreyas Iyer into the fray. Maninder said Shreyas Iyer’s body language is something he admires and claimed the Kolkata Knight Riders player can lead India in near future.

“I’ve been saying this for the past 3-4 years, you know Shreyas Iyer is my favourite, whenever I have seen him lead any side, when he led the IPL side or anywhere, he looks like a good thinker of the game. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and he is somebody who is very positive,” he said to Sony Sports during India’s match against Bangladesh.

He continued, “You can see his approach when he bats, whenever he comes to bat, he is looking for runs. He is not somebody who thinks that – ‘I’m gonna stay at the wicket for sometime, and then I start scoring runs’. If he doesn’t get boundaries from the word go, you can see him rotating his strike, he is looking for singles, trying to find the gaps and that’s his quality.”

“For me, I still feel, I’ve said it earlier Hardik Pandya at the moment – you can make him the captain in white-ball cricket. But in my mind, its Shreyas Iyer, actually (a candidate) for the past 3-4 years. I really hope that we give him opportunities to play for India regularly in all the formats because he has a good brain,” the former player concluded.

Shreyas Iyer has experience in captaincy. He has captained Mumbai in the limited overs while doing the same for Delhi Capitals and now Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.