"I'll be there in the IPL but don't know about captaincy yet" - Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has provided a couple of crucial updates regarding his shoulder injury and the aspect of taking over the leadership of the Delhi Capitals from incumbent Rishabh Pant when the IPL 2021 season resumes in September.

Speaking on Monday, Shreyas Iyer said his recovery is in its final stages and it will now take him almost a month to attain match fitness.

The 26-year-old also clarified that the captaincy question hasn't been decided yet, and it's up to the franchise owners to take that call before the season. Shreyas Iyer told The Grade Cricketer's YouTube channel:

"My shoulder... yes, I think the healing process is done. Now it's the last stage of achieving strength and range. So that's going to take about a month and the training is obviously going on. Other than that, I feel, I will be there in the IPL.

"I don't know about the captaincy, it's in the hands of the owners. But the team has already been doing well and we are on top and that's what really matters to me. My main aim and goal to lift the trophy which Delhi has never done before."

Running sesh photo dump 📸 pic.twitter.com/ixt4HNEgf2

— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) May 30, 2021

Shreyas Iyer went under the knife in April after hurting his shoulder during the India-England ODI series. He missed the first half of the IPL in rehabilitation and Rishabh Pant took over the team in his absence.

The young wicketkeeper-batter lived up to the hype, leading the Capitals to the top of the table in what has been termed one of their best IPL performances so far.

"Ashwin just had to decide on what we decided" - Shreyas Iyer on non-striker run-out

Shreyas Iyer also talked about how he convinced Ravichandran Ashwin against running out the non-striker - controversially known as 'Mankading' - after he joined the Capitals in 2019.

Iyer said he and head coach Ricky Ponting were 'adamant' with their stance and the veteran spinner agreed with their decision.

"That decision was really tough to make. Ricky and I were really adamant on saying that we are not going to do that. Ravichandran Ashwin just had to decide on what we decided. He was like, 'OK, I am going to stick to whatever you guys have decided and I am OK with it until and unless the batsman does something weird.'"

Shreyas Iyer, who led the Capitals to their first-ever IPL final in 2020, will look to have an impactful second season and stake his claim for the bigger goal of the T20 World Cup.