Shreyas Iyer is India cricket team’s best number 4 batter and he proved so yet again in IND vs ENG 1st ODI. But it came as a shock when the Mumbai batter revealed that he wasn’t supposed to play in Nagpur but got a chance only because Virat Kohli was injured. Rohit Sharma and Gambhir’s strategy for India’s playing XI sans Shreyas is questionable and worrying, especially with ICC Champions Trophy drawing closer.
Shreyas Iyer a must at no.4 for Champions Trophy
With 1456 runs from 34 ODIs while batting at number 4, Iyer is the best option that India have for that role. Against England in the 1st ODI, he scored a sensational half-century, finishing with 59 runs off 36 deliveries, studded with nine fours and two sixes. With 2480 runs so far in his ODI career, Shreyas is in an indispensable player for India in the 50-over format. But Rohit and Gambhir seem to think so otherwise.
| Mat | Runs | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | 0s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 2480 | 47.69 | 102.14 | 5 | 19 | 1 |
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After India’s victory in Nagpur, Iyer revealed that he had to cut short his movie time the previous night after being informed of his last-minute inclusion. The decision raises eyebrows because what it essentially means is that India would have either had Gill or Kohli batting at number 4. And more so, it would have also meant giving Jaiswal his ODI debut would have resulted in Iyer’s exclusion from the playing XI. Regardless of whatever the team’s planned batting combination was, it would have been a huge mistake to leave Iyer out.
Coming to Champions Trophy, India’s strategy will be questionable if they are undecided on their number 4 batter will be. Surely, they cannot afford to make that mistake. Given Iyer’s red-hot from in the recent past, especially in domestic tournaments like Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, there seems to be no logic to leave him out of the playing XI.
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