Ryan Harris believes "natural leader" Rishabh Pant can guide Delhi Capitals to a maiden Indian Premier League title.
Pant was appointed as Capitals captain last month after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
India sensation Pant has emerged as one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world and will start the IPL in outstanding form, having dished out some brutal treatment to the England Test and limited-overs attacks.
Harris saw Pant's captaincy credentials when he was Delhi's bowling coach for their run to the final of the 2020 IPL, which they lost to the Mumbai Indians.
The former Australia paceman says the 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman can thrive on the responsibility of being skipper.
He told Stats Perform News: "Obviously it's a blow to lose Shreyas, but Rishabh is a natural leader and a great competitor.
"He was already doing a lot of leading when I was over in Dubai last year for the tournament. There were times when Shreyas was fielding on the boundary, so Rishabh was taking on responsibility then.
"He's a bit talker and an outspoken character. It's not something he will be coming into blind and he will relish it.
"Rishabh is a natural leader, a popular member of the squad and he was an obvious choice to step up as captain and he should be massively confident following some brilliant performances against Australia and England."
The Capitals will have a potent bowling attack once again, with South Africa duo Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje retained along with Ishant Sharma and the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin.
Harris feels this could be the year for Delhi, who have also recruited prolific Australia batsman Steve Smith, to claim an elusive first IPL crown.
"They have a few of the best fast bowlers in the world in that squad and if they can stay fit, they can have a really good tournament again," he said.
"Rabada and Nortje were outstanding last year and they have also added Tom Curran. Ashwin and [Amit] Mishra are great spin options and the batting line-up is strong, so they have a good chance."
The Capitals face Chennai Super Kings in their first match of the tournament on Saturday.
Dr. Donovan Bennett defeats Billy Heaven in JCA Presidential election
Dr. Donovan Bennett is the new president of the Jamaica Cricket Association after defeating Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven at Thursday’s elections at the 20th JCA Annual General Meeting held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.
Bennett, who served as JCA vice-president for 11 years, is set for his first term at the helm after a 67-30 victory.
Heaven served as JCA president for the last 10 years and was seeking a fifth term.
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.
The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.
Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.
Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.
Data Debrief
Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.
He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.
IPL: Kohli and Patidar star to snap RCB's losing streak
Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a six-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League by claiming a convincing 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Bengaluru still sit bottom of the standings, but have reason to cheer after Virat Kohli's 51 and Rajat Patidar's 20-ball 50 got the job done in style on Thursday.
Cameron Green chipped in with a useful 37 as RCB reached 206-7 from their 20 overs, and the Australian then took 2-12 with the ball as the Sunrisers failed to get going.
Shahbaz Ahmed top scored for Sunrisers with 40 not-out, but it was not enough as they only mustered 171-8 in response.
Data Debrief
Thursday's match marked Jaydev Unadkat's 100th in the IPL, and though he finished on the losing side, he did take a memorable three-for to celebrate the occasion.
It was Unadkat who dismissed Kohli, Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, finishing with figures of 3-30.
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