Indian batter Shreyas Iyer has looked uncomfortable against the short ball since the Indian T20 League 2022. After some spectacular batting performances in the home series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, the 28-year-old was in contention for the recently concluded 20-20 World Cup 2022 in Australia but couldn’t make it into the squad.
Iyer’s inability to deal with the short ball only kept getting worse as the month progressed. He was dismissed in a similar fashion during the rescheduled fifth Test match against England in July and showed no signs of improvement in whatever chances he got thereafter. Many teams have figured out that the middle-order batter has no answer against the short-pitch deliveries.
In the first ODI match against New Zealand, when he came at no.3, he was straightaway tested by Lockie Ferguson’s bouncer. However, he managed to convert it into a six by playing an upper cut over Tom Latham’s head. Notably, Iyer played a surviving but brilliant inning as he scored 80 runs off 76 balls smashing 4 sixes and as many fours.
It’s not the Shreyas Iyer I want to see: Former Kiwi Bowler
Former kiwi right-arm pacer Simon Doull wants Iyer to bat at his very best not like he played in Auckland, and said that he wants to see him fight against the short-pitch deliveries because now everyone knows that he struggles against bouncers and it’s a hard place to be in.
“Look, I was really disappointed with the third ball. It’s not the Shreyas Iyer I want to see. I want to see him fight through those couple of moments but it is tough, I get it. It’s hard. And when you have got the reputation of not playing the short balls well, it is not easy. It’s a horrible place to be in.” Simon Doull said on Cricbuzz.
“But I want to see him fight a bit harder for that. But then he just finds a way to score runs and he scores them all around there. He is particularly aggressive against spin and tries to be. But I just like him when he shows a bit more composure. It was a good inning tonight. I thought it was a very good inning after a really rough start.” He added.
