Shreyas Iyer is the next in line to be India captain: Former cricketer makes bold claim after KKR's IPL 2024 win

Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa believes Shreyas Iyer has given a good account of himself to become India's next captain. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper marshaled his troops brilliantly throughout the IPL 2024 season, leading them to their third title.

Uthappa shed light on the character that Shreyas showed to handle a dressing room that featured many star players and the composure needed to get everyone on the same page.

Speaking to Jio Cinema after KKR's IPL 2024, triumph, here's what Robin Uthappa said about Shreyas Iyer:

"I am going to say it here. He is going to be the future India captain. I think he is next in line, maybe even ahead of Shubman Gill. He has got the character and wherewithal to handle a team. I think there’s a lot he has learnt this season."

Uthappa also explained how Shreyas had to deal with big personalities in the coaching staff as well, which included the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Chandrakant Pandit, and Abhishek Nayar. The fact that the KKR captain could make his own decisions around such big names makes Uthappa believe he could be the heir to Rohit Sharma.

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Robin Uthappa on Shreyas Iyer's struggles coming into IPL 2024

Despite having a sensational 2023 World Cup with the bat where he scored more than 500 runs, Shreyas Iyer found himself without a central contract. His fitness issues and several reports about how the board was unhappy with him might have psychologically affected the KKR captain, according to Robin Uthappa.

The former cricketer thus praised Shreyas even more as despite the distractions, he was able to lead the team to a triumph. On this, Uthappa stated:

"Even after going through a lot, the back injury, the World Cup snub, not getting a central contract – a lot of conjecture about what was happening with him. He barely spoke about it, I think just before the final, he touched upon it. I think that goes to show he has got his sight clear on what he is going to do for himself and the teams he plays for."

With Rohit Sharma already past the age of 37, it will be interesting to see how India line up their next leadership transition. Given Shreyas Iyer has lost his place in the Test and T20I side, it will be intriguing whether the board adopts a split captaincy approach or continues with the all-format captain theory.