DNA Explainer: In Shreyas Iyer's absence, who should lead Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021?

While the form of players like Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel during the recently concluded India-England series across formats will keep the Delhi Capitals franchise in good stead ahead of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), they were landed a body blow before the start of the season as their skipper and one of the main batsmen in the line-up, Shreyas Iyer is on the verge of getting ruled out from the entirety of the lucrative tournament.

So, now part from finalising the first XI, the last year's runners-up have a major decision to take as to who will step in Iyer's shoes, after all, Iyer became the first captain in the history of the league to take a Delhi team to the final. A captaincy change in the middle of the 2018 season and the then 23-year old was handed the reigns of the perennial underperformers of the league.

A change in the name, branding and the colours of the side as they became Capitals from Daredevils brought a turnaround of fortunes for the Delhi-based franchise as they qualified for the knockouts in both seasons. In 2019, they lost to the Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2 but they went further next year as they reached the first-ever final for a Delhi team in the IPL. Even though they lost the final, the Delhi side under Iyer and coach Ricky Ponting has seen a resurgence like no other and an injury to the skipper could prove to be detrimental to the team's chances in the upcoming season.

It doesn't mean that the team doesn't have able captaincy options or good batsmen in the line-up, but Iyer's absence is surely going to affect the team's balance as the team will not just have to look at an inspiring captaincy choice, but also an able No 3 batsman, who can score runs in both gears.

The Capitals have signed an equal or more than capable No 3 in Australian star batsman Steve Smith. But, playing Smith in the line-up will mean the side will have to sacrifice Shimron Hetmyer's spot as the three other overseas spots will automatically be taken by Marcus Stoinis, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada. Smith could also be a great captaincy choice, but that could create a conundrum for the team if he goes through a rough patch as he was released by Rajasthan Royals because of the lack of runs from his bat and poor captaincy.

If Delhi does want to play either of Hetmyer or Sam Billings as the overseas batting option, then they could also hand reigns of the side in the 35-year old left-hander Shikhar Dhawan's hands, who was the stand-in skipper for the side in one of the game last year when Shreyas was out of the field due to an injury. Dhawan, who led Delhi recently in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was the leading run-scorer for the Capitals last year scoring 618 runs and could be a name that would be discussed in the captaincy decision by the franchise given his experience.

But, if they don't want to go that road and give someone young that responsibility like they did with Iyer, Rishabh Pant won't be a bad choice, given he was side's designated vice-captain in the last two years. Pant, who is in the form of his life could be considered as an option given he has been with the franchise for five years now and is aware of the team culture. However, given Ricky Ponting's midset, he has always believed that Pant should be set free and captaincy might just bough him down.

Talking of youngster, the 21-year old, Prithvi Shaw, who recently led Mumbai team to Vijay Hazare Trophy title also has an outside chance given his record as captain in the big tournaments. Another choice could be India's vice-captain in Tests, Ajinkya Rahane. But his place in the XI like Smith is not confirmed and that could probably go against him.

But, there's one person, who along with Shikhar has the best chance and could be the best option for the Delhi team, is 34-year off-spinning all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin, who has led Kings XI Punjab in a couple of seasons was traded to the Capitals ahead of the IPL 2020 and he was one of the consistent performers for his side. Considered one of the smartest minds in the game, Ashwin has enough captaincy experience and also playing experience in the IPL and how to manage the players given his two years experience with the Punjab side. Ashwin, who is probably in one of the happiest stages of his career and enjoying his cricket, could probably become the first Delhi captain to get his hands on the silverware given the personnel at his disposal and another sharp mind of Ricky Ponting to guide him.

Options are plenty, arriving at the best one is the hardest task and the Delhi team management have one on their hands as their first game is just 11 days away.