IPL 2019 | Sanjay Manjrekar rates Shreyas Iyer's captaincy above Virat Kohli
Sanjay Manjrekar has rated the captaincy of Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer higher than that of Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli for this season of the Indian Premier League. DC had won nine out of the 14 league stage games whereas RCB had finished last with just six wins.
Royal Challengers Bangalore had an awful start to their campaign in this year’s Indian Premier League as they lost six games on the trot, however, they managed to salvage some respect by winning six of their next eight games. The Virat Kohli-led side had a poor outing with respect to their bowling. The skipper banked on pacers Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi to get them wickets but they only played 11, nine and seven matches respectively. The three had only eight wickets amongst them and Sanjay Manjrekar felt that RCB made a mistake with respect to the bowling attack in the auctions. He only gave the Indian skipper six points for his exploits as the RCB captain in a video for ESPN Cricinfo.
Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand was rated eight by Manjrekar. The former wicket-keeper pointed out that when Iyer was suddenly made the skipper midway last year, the bowlers were themselves setting the field whereas Iyer stood silently. However, he felt that Iyer was more commanding this year and even the results worked in the side’s favour. The side's wins were equal to the top two sides but they were placed third due to an inferior net run rate. The Delhi-based franchise had made its first appearance in the playoffs since 2012 but crashed out in the Eliminator.
Manjrekar rated the Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni at nine points. He deducted one point for backing Shane Watson despite his failures and felt that it dents the confidence of other players. The former cricketer gave eight points to Rohit Sharma and remarked that he knows how to balance the big players and is also very calm on the field. Nevertheless, he felt that the big-hitting Kieron Pollard should have been given more chances.
Ajinkya Rahane was sacked as the Rajasthan Royals skipper midway and Steve Smith was appointed as the new captain. Manjrekar gave the worst rating five to the India vice-captain whereas he rated the former Australia skipper at six.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin was rated at seven despite the frequent changes in the playing XI. The 53-year-old pointed out that points were not deducted for the changes as the skipper had revealed that the team suffered from as many as 14 injuries.
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson was also rated at seven and the cricketer turned commentator felt that his selflessness to sacrifice his batting position to the in-form Manish Pandey played a role in that. Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik was not rated by Manjrekar.