Ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) season opener against three-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Capitals' Ravichandran Ashwin has named the 'team to beat' in the 2021 edition of the world's most followed T20 league.
Ashwin, a key member of the Delhi Capitals unit that finished runners-up last year, also said that this season is a good chance for Rishabh Pant to prove his mettle as captain and said his team's chances of winning the league is a "good, a well balanced one."
In an interview with the New Indian Express, the 34-year old dubbed defending champions Mumbai Indians as the favourites to win the league. He said that Mumbai had a "powerful and explosive" squad and that the five-time IPL champions were the "team to beat."
"Every team is strong and I am not making a diplomatic statement. But I definitely think Mumbai has got a powerful and experienced squad. Mumbai will always start as favourites in this competition. I think Mumbai is the team to beat," he told the publication.
Mumbai Indians begin their title defence against title hopefuls Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday evening.
The Indian spinner also hailed his new captain Pant. Ashwin opined that Pant was "naturally blessed" with a good bat swing and was abe to produce immense power, which he said was "not an ordinary thing" for a cricketer. Pant was announced as the Delhi-based franchise's captain on March 30, following his exceptional knocks in the India-England T20 series.
The Chennai local also admitted that Shreyas Iyer's absence due to an injury was a "huge blow" for the Delhi Capitals. The team he said would particularly miss Iyer's batting. Iyer was the Capitals' second highest run scorer last year with 519 runs and a strike rate of 123.27.