Only Shreyas Iyer can say what was going through his mind as he entered the Eden for the first time as a non-Kolkata Knight Riders player on Thursday.
It was a little surprising that the Knight Riders didn't retain the player under whose captaincy they won their third IPL crown last year. With the bat too, Shreyas' contributions were fairly significant.
However, taking the field a little while after the Punjab Kings' training session got underway, their skipper, like a true professional, got down to business after a light warm-up session. Fully focused on the job, Shreyas underwent a period of knocking where he practised mainly the pull shot against short-pitched stuff.
Then the former Knight headed off to one of the centre wickets, facing some of his bowling colleagues, before a light-hearted conversation with his former teammate Harshit Rana.
In the Kings' fascinating win over the Knights in Mullanpur, where they defended a paltry 111, it was Shreyas' captaincy that stood out alongside leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling. Shreyas was almost spot-on with his field placings, besides making the right bowling changes.
For sure, he would be eager to make a statement once again against KKR at the Eden on Saturday.
"Shreyas Iyer is definitely a very good captain. We all know how he can win matches with the bat, but the way he sets the field and rotates bowlers also shows he’s always thinking about the team, not just himself," Kings batsman Nehal Wadhera said at an online news conference.
Former England Women pacer Isa Guha was at the Eden on Thursday. She too heaped praise on Shreyas. "Shreyas is a quality player. He's going to be around Indian cricket for a long time. Obviously, there's going to be a focus on his ability as captain and leadership because the (current) leaders are getting a little bit older.
"So, you're constantly looking at who's going to be the next person. But I think under (Kings' head coach) Ricky Ponting, Shreyas is going to be learning a lot."
The Kings will have to face the Knights on the pitch that was in use last Monday against Gujarat Titans. Whether the Knights bring pacer Anrich Nortje back in the XI or finally give a chance to Rovman Powell, maybe as an Impact Player, remains to be seen.
Pacer Umran Malik was at the Knights' practice. He will be doing his rehab with them till the end of this IPL.
