IND vs WI: Shreyas Iyer NEW ALL-ROUNDER? – With India’s Top 5 lacking any sort of bowling ability, Rohit Sharma and the team management has sent a clear message to Shreyas Iyer, “Start bowling, be an all-round option for selection”. Iyer has played as a batsman so far while bowling 2-3 overs in a few matches. But now, he has been sidelined pending his return to full-time bowling action. Follow India vs West Indies Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
“We were very clear with Shreyas, we told him the team wants that option (of an all-rounder) going into the World Cup. They are all smart guys, professionals and they understand the team comes first,” Rohit Sharma said after the match.
IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma sends CLEAR MESSAGE to Shreyas Iyer, ‘Start bowling, be all-round option to be considered in Playing XI’
The third-biggest pick of IPL 2022 Auction, Shreyas Iyer missed out on a spot in India’s Playing XI hours after being announced as the KKR captain. The reason? With Suraykumar Yadav performing well, he didn’t fit into India’s T20 combination.
Around evening, Kolkata Knight Riders unveiled the worst kept secret in the IPL universe by announcing their Rs 12.25 crore recruit as franchise captain for 2022. By 6:30 pm, however, it was clear that the former Delhi Capitals and new KKR captain isn’t fitting into the specialist batter category in Team India for the T20 game against West Indies.
IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma sends CLEAR MESSAGE to Shreyas Iyer, ‘Start bowling, be all-round option to be considered in Playing XI’
Seen Shreyas Iyer bowling for the first time.#indvsa #indvsSA #SavInd #Savsind #ShreyasIyer pic.twitter.com/2dKBrZ6KzY
— Yogen (45) (@frontFootPuller) January 23, 2022
“Someone like Shreyas Iyer is sitting out, very hard on him to be out and not making it to the XI, but it’s what the team requires. We need that option in the middle, someone who can bowl. It’s always nice when you have those kinds of competitions going on,” Rohit Sharma said after India’s six-wicket victory at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
So far, Shreyas Iyer has bowled just three times in ODIs and four times in domestic T20s including IPL with just one wicket. However, for Mumbai, he was seen bowling regularly in 50-over matches.
IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma sends CLEAR MESSAGE to Shreyas Iyer, ‘Start bowling, be all-round option to be considered in Playing XI’
Skipper Rohit gave a glimpse of what kind of team combination he is looking at in the shortest format and he made the hard but prudent call in picking a ‘360 degree’ player like Suryakumar Yadav along with the less fancied Iyer Venkatesh, who brings in all-round skills to the table.
“A lot of things go into deciding the playing XI, the opposition, the conditions, the dimensions of the ground. Yes, sometimes it can be tough for the guys missing out but we are making sure we are giving out a very clear message. Unfortunate but we want to put the team first,” the skipper displayed no ambiguity in his statements.
IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma sends CLEAR MESSAGE to Shreyas Iyer, ‘Start bowling, be all-round option to be considered in Playing XI’
It is also understood that Shreyas’ technique against the short ball has been a bit susceptible and a lot of work is going into making him correct his body position to deal with express quicks in future.
All those who witnessed a couple of days’ training at Eden Gardens saw how Rohit, himself a fine exponent of pull-shot, was seen explaining to Shreyas a thing or two about balance.
On the eve of the match after regular nets session, Shreyas wore the helmet and didn’t have his pads on but team’s throwdown specialist Raghavendra was seen standing at 10 yards and feeding him with fast but loopy balls, aimed at his helmet visor as he continuously played the pull-shot.
IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma sends CLEAR MESSAGE to Shreyas Iyer, ‘Start bowling, be all-round option to be considered in Playing XI’
It was an exercise to perfect a particular shot as Rahul Dravid kept a hawk’s eye on the proceedings. As Rohit had mentioned before the match, IPL dynamics won’t dictate how he builds a team, he walked the talk.
Hence it wasn’t surprising to see Shreyas (Rs 12.25 crore), Shardul Thakur (Rs 10.75 crore), and Avesh Khan (Rs 10 crore) along with two retained players (Ruturaj Gaikwad Rs 6 crore) and Mohammed Siraj (Rs 7 crore) warming the bench.
Add to it Deepak Hooda’s Rs 5.75 crore and Kuldeep Yadav’s Rs 2 crore base price, India’s reserve bench was worth more than Rs 50 crore.
“When the guys who are missing come back it’s going to be very challenging to make the playing XI. But I’m happy with that challenge rather than not having players,” Rohit said.
IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma sends CLEAR MESSAGE to Shreyas Iyer, ‘Start bowling, be all-round option to be considered in Playing XI’
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