ENG VS IND: Shreyas Iyer’s India Prospects Take a Short Blip

Shreyas Iyer has enjoyed passages of success in all three formats at the highest level but he will have to continue fighting to secure his place in the side. Despite his limitations, Iyer has grabbed his opportunities extremely well, but it might not be enough. Injuries have also played their part as the other players got the opportunity to strengthen their case. Here, we take a look at his near future prospects in the Indian side across formats. Discover more best sports betting sites in India that are top-rated in the market and it has an amazing live betting platform. Have fun at home!

Shreyas Iyer’s prospects for the T20 World Cup 2022:

Since his return to the T20I side in September 2019, Shreyas has been averaging 38.5 with a strike rate of 143.8. These numbers are quite good for a middle-order batsman. Iyer has also improved his intent to fix his scoring rate recently. The right-handed batter has made some praiseworthy efforts to catch up with the team requirements, but he could fall out of the favour.

Iyer’s glaring problems while facing short balls and bouncers haven’t helped his cause, particularly while building up for the T20 World Cup in Australia. Pacers, who don’t even operate at a high pace, have also started testing Iyer with short-pitched bowling. He always seems to be anticipating the short balls against fast-bowlers. Iyer’s unstable (sort of) cut shot while shuffling is a very risky shot and unlikely to help in the long run.

As it seems, for now, Iyer will find it pretty difficult to make it to India’s World Cup squad as he did in the previous one. The likes of Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar, and Dinesh Karthik are ahead in the race.

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Iyer’s prospect in ODIs:

Talking about ODIs, Shreyas seemed to have pretty much finalized himself at the No. 4 spot. While averaging 53.8 with a strike rate of 102.7, Iyer scored seven 50+ scores including a century in 11 innings between his return to the ODI side in August 2019 till the New Zealand tour in 2020.

However, he hasn’t enjoyed a great run since the Australian tour in 2020. He has been averaging just 24.87 with a strike rate of 81.55 and just one 50+ score in 8 innings since then. And, frequent breaks due to injuries haven’t helped either. The teams have exploited his weakness against short-pitched bowling, especially in Australia and South Africa.

Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli, Pant, KL, Hardik, and Jadeja are likely to form the top 7 in India’s full-strength XI. Suryakumar Yadav is also giving a tough competition. While KL Rahul isn’t available for this ODI series against England, and the latest developments reveal that Virat Kohli might miss the first match due to a groin strain, Iyer is likely to get an opportunity. However, it remains to be seen if he retains his spot in the next two ODIs, given Virat is fit.

He will have to make his opportunities count as and when they come, and also work on his game against pace-bowling. Iyer’s batting tempo is the best suited for the ODI format and he also has an admirable temperament to fight in tough circumstances. His spot in the ODI squad isn’t under threat as of now, however, his spot in the XI appears to be, particularly when India’s preparations for the World Cup 2023 are in the full swing.

Iyer’s prospects in Test cricket:

Iyer had a great start to his Test career as well. India was in a spot of bother when he arrived at the crease on his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur. But, the debutant stood tall and scored a century. He played another fine inning of 65 runs in the second innings and was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ award. Read more VIP betting tips and guides, written by cricket betting experts, to find the right betting app for your situation.

Three innings later, Shreyas produced another match-winning performance on a very tricky batting deck against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. He scored 92 and 67 runs in the first and second innings respectively and won another ‘Player of the Match’ award. These both were applaudable performances by an unestablished player.

However, until, he works on his game against pace-bowling, it’s unlikely that India will persist with him in the long run. The Indian selectors pay special attention to batters’ performance in overseas Tests, and with Iyer’s susceptible technique against pacers, it will be a big challenge. As India won’t play overseas Tests for a while, Shreyas will have to up his game in the meantime.