After scoring a 36-ball 59 against England on Thursday in the Nagpur ODI, Shreyas Iyer dropped a bomb on the Indian fans, claiming, he wasn’t even going to be part of the playing XI, if Virat Kohli wasn’t injured. That only makes one wonder, as to what plans does the team management have for a special talent like Iyer, who has been a massive hit in the ODIs for the team.
Shreyas Iyer Deserves to be Permanent
And it is just not the fans, but his coach at the PBKS — Ricky Ponting too, that he isn’t a starter in the Indian team. But then, now when he is finally here, the coach now expects him to thrive at the Champions Trophy. Not to forget, he was a massive hit at the World Cup 2023, where he went on to score 530 runs in 11 matches, at an average of 66.
“He’s got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world,” Ponting said of Iyer, on The ICC Review. “On those wickets – the slower, lower wickets – he’s dynamic on those. We know how good a hitter of spin bowling he is and teams tend not to bowl a lot of spin at India, but at some stage it’s going to come.
“If Shreyas is out in the middle, then he’s as good as anyone. So I’m delighted to see him back in their team.”
Ricky Ponting Confused
Ponting went on to further express his bewilderment for a player of Shreyas Iyer‘s caliber. “I’ve been a little bit surprised that he’s been out of India’s side the last couple of years,” Ponting added. “He had a terrific World Cup back in India where he played beautifully in the middle-order and I actually felt then that he’d almost cemented that spot and made that his own.
“Then he had those couple of injuries, obviously injured his back and went out of the side, but his domestic season this year has been brilliant. It sort of coincided with what he’s done since around (IPL) auction time going forward in domestic cricket, he has been pretty much outstanding.”
