Former Australia captain Ian Chappell drops blunt remark about star India batter

Shreyas Iyer has been dropped from the Test squad citing the reason of a stiff back. The middle-order batter has not been consistent in the traditional format of the game as he struggled in the first two Tests and was unable to make the squad for the remaining matches. Several media reports stated that Iyer was experiencing back and groyne discomfort before the squad announcement, but the Indian Cricket Board made no mention of his fitness concerns while announcing the squad for the final three Tests.

The 29-year-old batter after four consecutive Test matches, had an average of 19 in his last ten innings. Iyer had a best score of 35 in his last ten innings. Despite a strong World Cup 2023 performance after returning from a lengthy injury layoff, Iyer struggled to get started in the Test format. 

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has dropped his comments about the Mumbai-born batter. He was relieved that Iyer was no longer part of India's team for the last three Tests, claiming that the selectors misjudged his abilities and describing Virat Kohli's absence as a major setback for the hosts. Chappell also explained the return of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja will strengthen the Indian team.

India is a strong side and they also have a good leader in Rohit Sharma: Ian Chappell

Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo, "India is a strong side and they also have a good leader in Rohit Sharma. They will be greatly strengthened by Ravindra Jadeja's and KL Rahul's recovery from injury, but that Virat Kohli will not return for the rest of the series is a blow. Hopefully, the selectors will now stop overestimating Shreyas Iyer's batting ability and learn to value Kuldeep Yadav's wicket-taking capability more."

He further added, "Hopefully, the selectors will now stop overestimating Shreyas Iyer’s batting ability and learn to value Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket-taking capability more. It will help England enormously if Stokes is once again able to function as an allrounder, as his bowling is a distinct weapon. It would also help if he fielded in the slips, especially to the spinners, as he is one of the best in that position."