Shreyas Iyer (Source – BCCI Domestic)
Indian middle-order batter, Shreyas Iyer who had had an exceptional commencement to his Test career, finds himself to be nowhere near consideration at present. His scores in the ongoing edition of the Duleep Trophy read 9, 54, and 0 so far. Not only has he had an underwhelming presence with the bat, but it has also extended to his captaincy.
Former Pakistani cricketer, Basit Ali, analyzed his recent dismissal to Khaleel Ahmed and established that Iyer’s head wasn’t in the game. He also commented that Iyer should consider himself fortunate that Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane weren’t involved in the competition, alluding to the intensified comparisons cricket analysts would’ve made.
“As a cricketer, it saddens me to see him. If you are getting out in front, your concentration isn’t in the game. And especially the red-ball game. He has scored two centuries in the World Cup, he’s an IPL-winning captain, he should’ve scored 100-200 runs here. Iyer is so lucky that Rahane and Pujara aren’t playing in the Duleep Trophy,” said Basit on his YouTube channel.
Basit also made a bold assertion that Iyer didn’t seem to have an inherent appetite for the longest format that he once possessed. He also claimed to have taken a different stance regarding Iyer had he been a selector in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
“Iyer doesn’t have the hunger for red-ball cricket anymore. He’s only hungry for boundaries. You should prioritize it. If he’s thinking he is similar to Virat Kohli after hitting two centuries in the World Cup, no, it doesn’t happen that way. I’m sorry to Indians who like him, but if I was India’s selector, Iyer wouldn’t have been in the Duleep Trophy at all. He’s not respecting the game,” added Basit.
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Iyer strugggling to keep pace with others overtaking him in the race for middle-order spots
The Buchi Babu tournament which was played last month would’ve ideally been on the agenda of Iyer to hoard substantial scores. Instead, he only managed 2 and 22 in the first and second innings, respectively, against the TNCA XI.
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With the likes of Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant all making a mark in the first round of the competition as well as a few others hovering around the above, Iyer seems to be lagging big time for a spot in the middle-order in the Indian Test team.