3 reasons why Shreyas Iyer can be an ideal No. 6 batter for India in Tests
Shreyas Iyer has enjoyed a fabulous 2022. Not only has he pounced on the opportunities he's had, but he's also asserted his dominance across formats.
Interestingly, Iyer has been the batter with the most international runs for India in 2022 so far, with a total of 1,493 runs in 38 innings across three formats.
His most recent quality innings came during the first innings of the opening Test match against Bangladesh, where the 28-year-old scored a well-made 192-ball 86.
Shreyas Iyer in all formats:
Test - 50.80 average
ODI - 48.03 average
T20I - 30.68 average
The future is here 🤩
#CricketTwitter #indvsban https://t.co/QetYT1j27u
Coming at No. 6, when India were in deep trouble at 112/4, Iyer arrested the slide for the visitors. He added 149 runs for the fifth-wicket alongside Cheteshwar Pujara and brought India into the game.
This was not the first time Iyer showed his mettle in red-ball cricket for India, as he already has four half-centuries and a Test ton to his name.
While he has plied his trade while batting at a couple of different positions in Tests, he could be a regular fixture while batting at No. 6 for India going forward.
On that note, let's take a look at the three reasons why Shreyas Iyer can be the ideal No. 6 batter for India in Tests.
#3 Can play according to the situation of the game
Shreyas Iyer in 2022:
•In ODIs - 724 runs, 55.69 average.
•In T20Is - 463 runs, 141.16 strike rate.
•In Tests - 310 runs, 51.66 average.
Most runs scorer for India in international cricket in this year - Sensational Shreyas! https://t.co/3A6RlRhWPf
A skilled reader of the game, Shreyas Iyer has all the abilities to play as per the situation at hand. At No. 6, he can steady the ship for India in case of early emergencies and can even instill positivity through his aggressive approach.
Iyer can be an ideal foil for Rishabh Pant if the left-hander plays in his usual style in any instance. Apart from this, Iyer can assert himself against the opposition bowlers at will.
Moreover, a batter must know how to negotiate a new ball while batting at No. 6, and Iyer could be the ideal candidate there as well.
Given that he has played at the top of the order in white-ball cricket for a major part of his career, Iyer has all the experience of tackling a new ball against quality seamers.
#2 A right-hander in between Pant and Axar/Jadeja
Given Pant's excellent record while batting at No. 5 (78.5 batting average in nine innings), Shreyas Iyer is likely not to bat at that position.
Slotting the Mumbai lad at No. 6 will make India's batting lineup more varied, as he will be a much-needed right-handed batter in between Pant and either Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel, who are both ideally suited for No. 7.
A left-and-right-hand combination at the crease often poses difficult questions for the opposition, and Team India can certainly pounce on the strategy.
#1 Shreyas Iyer has a fantastic record while batting at No. 6
Clinical and efficient 🫶 🇮🇳 https://t.co/Ccnstz9RyH
Another reason why Shreyas Iyer should continue his exploits while batting at No. 6 is that he holds some fantastic numbers with the bat at that batting position.
The right-hander has accumulated 306 runs (more than 60%) of his 508 Test runs while batting at No. 6. With an outstanding average of 51, Iyer's strike rate also jumps from 58.5 at No. 5 to 67.2 while batting at No. 6 for India in Tests.
If his red-ball returns are anything to go by, it won't be an overstatement to say that Iyer can be India's ideal batter for the number six slot in Test matches going forward.