Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra shared his thoughts on why Shreyas Iyer was left out of the team for the final three Test matches between India and England. Chopra indicates that Shreyas Iyer‘s batting approach during the second Test may have resulted to his exclusion.
In his last 13 Test innings, Shreyas has not scored a half-century, as noted by Chopra. According to his opinion, the team management and selectors may not have been inspired by his lackluster performance combined with his style.
Shubman Gill was also in the same boat as Shreyas Iyer but he never looked ugly – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra noted that Shreyas Iyer might have become available for the final two Tests in a video he posted on his YouTube channel. Nonetheless, he believed that the Mumbai batter’s strategy—which differed from Shubman Gill‘s in the Visakhapatnam Test—may have made the selectors decide against picking him (3:40):
“Reports say that he was available for selection because there are three matches. So even if he wasn’t available for one match, he could have been available for the remaining two matches. So he was available for selection,”
“However, the selectors said that they weren’t going to pick him. Shubman Gill was also in the same boat but he never looked ugly. People said that about Shreyas in the Vizag Test match and what they said wasn’t wrong,” Chopra added.
Shreyas Iyer was backing away while playing every short ball- Aakash Chopra
Chopra noticed Shreyas crawling against spinners and James Anderson in the first innings of the second Test, which he felt was a poor reflection on his technique.
“In the Vizag match, he was backing away while playing every short ball. It just does not look nice. If you start playing like that, a question comes for sure why he is playing like that because that just did not look right,” he stated.
Problem is going to repeatedly come in Test cricket till Shreyas Iyer addresses it completely- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra pointed out that in order for Shreyas Iyer to succeed in Test cricket, he must resolve his technical problems.
“Shreyas Iyer had a very good World Cup. I feel his white-ball cricket is going to remain good. The way he bats, he will continue playing very well, but this problem is going to repeatedly come in Test cricket till he addresses it completely,” Aakash Chopra reflected.
The well-known commentator ended by wishing Shreyas a speedy recovery. Given that he hit a century on his Test debut, he suggested him to play long innings and rack up a lot of runs in the Ranji Trophy, saying that the door would always be open for a return.