Aakash Chopra and Shreyas Iyer. (Photo Source : Twitter)
Shreyas Iyer’s tryst with injuries will see him miss India’s upcoming ODI and Test series against the Windies later this month. The Kolkata Knight Rider skipper, who missed IPL 2023 due to a back injury, has been deemed not ready enough to take over the mantle in the longest format of the game, according to former Indian opener Aakash Chopra.
Indian middle-order batting ace Shreyas Iyer enjoyed a prolific run with the bat in the 50-over format for the national side in 2022. While Iyer was one of the most consistent performers in ODIs for India, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra is not convinced of his credentials in Tests. Chopra feels that the batter is susceptible to the moving ball and also looks uncomfortable against the short ball, something he needs to weed out of his game to nail his spot in the Test team.
“Shreyas Iyer – good player, scored a century on debut against New Zealand and scored runs in the second innings as well. But Shreyas Iyer, the Test batter, still has a lot to prove in my opinion. He played very well in Bangladesh also. He plays spin extremely well, there is no doubt about that. However, there are two things that might define his career – his game against the short ball and second against the moving ball – when the ball is pitched up and it swings, and the other is the bouncer,” Chopra said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
A verdict cannot be passed so early because he hasn’t nailed the format yet: Chopra
While Chopra lauded Iyer’s exploits in the shorter formats, he feels that the batter is still a fair distance away from sealing his spot in the red-ball side. He also reckoned that the talks of the former Delhi skipper leading the Indian side feel premature at the moment.
“Until he gets proficient in both of these things, it is even difficult to say whether his Test career will flourish or not. So the captain of the Indian Test team – too early to say. In my opinion, Shreyas Iyer, the permanent member of the Indian Test side, there is time for that.
A verdict cannot be passed so early because he hasn’t nailed the format yet. There is no doubt that the guy plays amazingly well in ODIs but in Test cricket, despite the runs, I think it will take him some time to solidify his place in this format. We will talk about the captaincy later,” he added.