Shreyas Iyer, the captain, has got a big thumbs-up from Ravi Shastri, the former India head coach.

Shastri believes leadership comes naturally to Shreyas, the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, and that he will only get better with time.

“Captaincy comes naturally to Shreyas. Look at his aggressive captaincy, you don’t feel like he’s leading KKR for the first time. Looks like he’s been captaining them for the last three to four seasons and it is visible through his clarity of thoughts,” Shastri told Star Sports.

“His mindset is clear about what brand of cricket he needs to play as a batter. At the same time, he’s aware of what he, as a captain, needs to do to take his team to the play-offs and win the title.

“I’ve liked the way he’s spoken during the pre and post-match (media) conferences and that shows he’s clear with his plans. I am convinced he’ll go a long way,” Shastri added.

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop, who is Shastri’s fellow commentator in the ongoing IPL, also had words of praise for Shreyas.

“When he became captain of the Delhi Capitals, he just got them better and better with every season,” Bishop said.