He made this disclosure during an interaction with Ravichandran Ashwin in the recent edition of the latter’s YouTube show ‘DRS with Ash’.

Ashwin asked Shreyas Iyer about the conversations in the Delhi Capitals set-up when he took over the captaincy from Gautam Gambhir. The Mumbaikar recalled that he was the third player retained by the franchise that year in the mega-auction, while Gambhir was brought back as the skipper.

Shreyas Iyer revealed that he told the franchise that he is not too concerned about the retention money, and that he is looking forward to captaining the team in the future.

Shreyas Iyer added that he was already envisaging himself in a leadership role, with the experience of captaining the India A team behind him. However, he admitted that he did not expect he would be taking up the job so soon.

Shreyas Iyer mentioned that he was mentally prepared to skipper the team and give his best at the job.

Shreyas Iyer on the help he received from Ricky Ponting in his new role

Ashwin also asked Shreyas Iyer about his first interaction with Ricky Ponting after being appointed the Delhi Capitals skipper.

He responded that the Delhi Capitals head coach did not impose any shackles on him and allowed him to play freely.

Shreyas Iyer lauded Ponting for understanding the psyche of every player in the team and managing them accordingly.

Shreyas Iyer elaborated that the former Aussie skipper made his job easier by shouldering most of the responsibilities of managing the team.

Shreyas Iyer signed off by observing that Ponting allowed him to concentrate on his batting while himself managing all the behind-the-scenes activities.

The Delhi Capitals failed to make the IPL playoffs in 2018 after a poor start to their campaign, with Gautam Gambhir stepping down midway through the season.

But they turned their fortunes around in the subsequent two seasons of the league. After reaching the playoffs for the first time in seven years in 2019, they went one step further in IPL 2020 by making their maiden entry into the finals of the tournament.

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