'Pant will be a talismanic leader'

After Delhi Capitals Captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of IPL 2021 after injuring his left shoulder during India's first ODI against England, DC announced on Tuesday that Rishabh Pant would be the new skipper.

The 23 year old will lead a team featuring veterans Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Steve Smith, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane.

Chennai Super Kings' Suresh Raina -- one of the IPL's long-standing stars -- feels Pant will be a talismanic leader for the Delhi Capitals.

Like the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Captain Pant can monitor the flow of play from behind the stumps.

Pakistan cricketing great Inzamam-ul Haq believes Pant could outblaze Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist -- both wicket-keeper-batsmen like the young man from Roorkee -- if he continues batting the way he has this year.

Shreyas Iyer has 'no doubt' that Pant -- who is now a bonafide star after stunning the cricketing universe with his exploits these past months -- is the 'best man' for the job.

'When I sustained the shoulder injury, and Delhi Capitals needed a leader for this edition of the IPL,' said Shreyas, 'I had no doubt that Rishabh would be the best man for the job.'

'He has all my good wishes to make amazing things happen with our absolutely incredible team,' Shreyas added. 'I'm going to miss the team tremendously, and will be cheering for them throughout.'

After a poor run in earlier IPLs, Delhi Capitals, under Coach Ricky Ponting and Captain Iyer, were the losing finalists in IPL 2020.

Can Pant-Ponting win them the IPL 2021 title?