All the batters in the India cricket team have been living under the shadows of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. This isn’t unique to them. Rahul Dravid, an all-time great, rarely got his dues because of one certain Sachin Tendulkar, who was the best batter in the world and batted alongside Dravid. Many think the bigger star is the biggest problem for the opposition. That isn’t exactly true. Team India has a batter who’s a bigger threat to New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy Final than Rohit-Kohli, and that’s Shreyas Iyer.
Shreyas Iyer overcoming his short ball weakness
In another final, ODI World Cup 2023, Australia thought that the middle order was the bigger threat. They got them out cheap, and the result is for everyone to see. “I think Shreyas Iyer will once again be a game-changer,” Ravichandran Ashwin stated before the India vs. New Zealand final on his YouTube channel.
His apparent short-ball weakness doesn’t seem to be a big issue anymore, especially on slow pitches in Dubai. “He has worked well on his short-ball game as well. Of course, he got out in the last game. But it shouldn’t matter. I think this is Shreyas Iyer’s biggest strength. He wants to get better at what he is not good at,” Ashwin added.
New Zealand, an easy target for Shreyas Iyer
There are two big reasons why New Zealand would be wary of Shreyas Iyer. First will be his overall record against them. In eight innings, the middle-order batter has got 6 fifty-plus scores. When he takes the Kiwis on in ICC ODI events (ODI World Cup 2023 and Champions Trophy 2025), he becomes even more dangerous.
Shreyas Iyer vs New Zealand in ODIs
| Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | Highest Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 8 | 563 | 70.37 | 100.71 | 2 | 4 | 105 |
| ICC ODI events | 3 | 217 | 72.33 | 110.15 | 1 | 1 | 105 |
India’s best player of spin
Now, let’s come to the second and bigger point. Shreyas Iyer is India’s best player of spin. Shubman Gill too is exceptional, but in the ICC Champions Trophy, the Mumbaiker is head and shoulders above. On spinning and sluggish pitches of Dubai, Shreyas has played accumulator and aggressor. His career ODI strike rate is 100, but it’s not even 80 in the tournament. That’s because he’s playing the situation.
Shreyas has been aiding Kohli, who tends to get stuck by the spinners a little bit. Kohli doesn’t have a great record against left-arm orthodox spinners either, and that’s where Shreyas will come in. “Virat Kohli can play the way he is playing because Shreyas Iyer is playing this way against spin. When there is a partnership between Virat and Shreyas, the captains can’t enforce a spin choke. Shreyas is removing all the pressure from Virat,” Ashwin added.
New Zealand has four spin options: Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra (left-arm orthodox) and Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips (right-arm orthodox). Against both of these styles of spin, Shreyas Iyer is just exceptional. He was the reason why Santner, who has been the best spinner of the ICC Champions Trophy, was ineffective against India in the middle overs in the group stage match.
During 11-40 overs, he can keep the spinners quiet. New Zealand has great pacers, but apart from William O’Rourke, the other two pacers, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, aren’t that great during the middle period. If the Santner and Bracewell threat can be negated, which Shreyas Iyer can, Team India should have a great chance to lift the ICC Champions Trophy.
Shreyas Iyer in ODIs vs left and right-arm orthodox spin
| Span | Innings | Runs | Balls | Out | Average | Strike Rate | Dot % | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Left-arm orthodox | 32 | 513 | 536 | 5 | 102.60 | 95.70 | 44.6 | 42 | 12 |
| Off-spin | 27 | 300 | 269 | 4 | 75 | 111.56 | 40.9 | 17 | 16 |
