“Shreyas is a born leader” – David Hussey lauds new KKR skipper over captaincy skills 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor David Hussey has termed the franchise’s new captain Shreyas Iyer as a "born leader." The Aussie also praised the youngster’s vision and asserted that KKR have high hopes from him.

Shreyas was picked by the Kolkata franchise at the IPL mega auction for ₹12.25 crore and, subsequently, named captain.

Explaining the decision to pick the 27-year-old as leader ahead of a senior cricketer like Pat Cummins, Hussey said:

“Shreyas is a born leader, just the way he walks out and commands airspace. He has got the respect of all the players as it is. Knowing Pat very well, he’ll be a good deputy, a good leader amongst the group and will also lead from the front.”

Hailing the Mumbai-born cricketer for his leadership skills, the KKR mentor added:

“The way he has captained in the past for Delhi, he has got a very good cricket brain. He has got a nice vision of how we want to play the game and I think he is going to express himself very well. It’s a very smart move from Brendon (McCullum) and the management from KKR.”

Under Shreyas’ captaincy, the Delhi Capitals (DC) made it to the IPL final for the first time in 2020. However, they went down to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the summit clash.

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“He has got 15 years of international cricket to come” – David Hussey on Shreyas Iyer

Having made his IPL debut in 2015, the NEW KKR skipper has gone on to establish himself as one of the most consistent batters in the tournament. He is also on the verge of cementing his place as an all-format cricketer in the Indian team.

Analyzing Shreyas’ growth as a player, Hussey said:

“It’s a wonderful story. He came in around 2105 I think and his development has been rapid. He’s got this determination, almost a stubbornness, of wanting to be the best, which is a great attribute to have. The way he works, he leads from the front. He has worked extremely hard on his game, not just batting but bowling and fielding as well.”

Making big predictions for the middle-order batter, the 44-year-old added:

“He’s going to be a complete cricketer and I believe he has got 15 years of international cricket to come. Hopefully, he can dominate international cricket, except against Australia.”

Hussey also played down Shreyas’ troubles against the short ball. Asked about the perceptible weakness in the KKR captain’s batting, he said:

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. The way he works at his game – driving off his pads, short balls… For any modern cricketer, if they don’t work at their game, they go backwards. Shreyas is probably one of the hardest workers in world cricket. I don’t think he is going to have any issues with the short ball.”

The right-handed batter has featured in 87 IPL games till date, scoring 2375 runs at an average of 31.66 and a strike rate of 123.95.