'That's something none of the captains had previously done': Shreyas Iyer reveals why Rahul is his 'favourite captain'

Shreyas Iyer played three ODI matches under KL Rahul during the tour of South Africa in January this year

Shreyas Iyer has now become an all-format Indian cricketer with stupendous returns with the bat both against the red and white ball. His rise in recent time has been phenomenal as well as he will also be leading the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team in the impending 15th season of the Indian Premier League. Iyer himself has played under quite a few captains including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, but he picked KL Rahul as his favourite captain.

KL Rahul with Shreyas Iyer

Iyer played three ODI matches under Rahul during the tour of South Africa in January this year. He did not have a very good return with the bat scoring 54 runs in 65 balls in three innings batting at No.5, but Iyer did roll his arms for the first time in an ODI match since 2019.

Only twice before did Iyer bowl an over in an ODFI match - against West Indies in 2019 in Visakhapatnam and against Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2017. But during the South Africa series, Iyer bowled 3.1 overs, three of which happened in a single match, conceding 22 runs in all. Despite not picking a wicket, Iyer thanked Rahul for the opportunity and hilariously picked him as his favourite captain saying that no other captain had given him the opportunity to bowl so many overs in a match.

“It was nice to play under him,” Iyer said of Rahul. “Firstly, he is an outstanding player. The confidence he carries on the field and in the team meetings, the support that he provides to the players it great. He’s got a very calm demeanour and his on-field decision making is very instinctive. I really enjoyed playing under him. Also, he gave me three overs of bowling, which none of the captains previously had done. So yeah, he’s my favourite captain!" he said on Red Bull Cricket Room on Clubhouse.

Shreyas has been looking for opportunities to prove his worth as a part-time bowler. Earlier, during the Sri Lanka T20I series, he had raised his hand for death-over bowling in the series opener in Lucknow, but he failed to convince Jasprit Bumrah for the role.

"I had already put my hand up (for a bowl). Around the 16th over when he (Rohit) went it he had already told Bumrah these are the bowlers who need to bowl. I tried to bribe Bumrah but it didn't work for me (laughs)," he had said in the post-match presentation.