3 reasons why Shreyas Iyer shouldn’t be part of India's T20 World Cup squad
With the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia just around the corner, the teams are in the final stages of finalizing their combinations. Team India have a few bilateral T20I series lined up ahead of the marquee event, where they will look to narrow down their playing XI.
The Men in Blue are spoiled for choice with plenty of options in the middle order. With Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav making a case for themselves with centuries against Ireland and England, respectively, Shreyas Iyer is slowly falling behind in the race.
His below-par returns in the series against South Africa have not helped him either. The right-handed batter scored 94 runs in five T20Is against the Proteas.
@mufaddal_vohra Why team management always put Shreyas iyer in the team, he hasn't done anything recently and may be he will improve later but currently selecting him is a waste of time and wicket deepak hooda would've supported Sky
Iyer had a good opportunity to make a case for himself in the third T20I against England. With the top order back in the hut early, he had a beautiful chance to take the Men in Blue home, but he perished after scoring 28 off 23 balls.
With time running out for him, we take a look at three reasons why Shreyas Iyer shouldn't be a part of India's T20 World Cup squad.
#3 Inconsistent with the bat
While there is no doubt about Iyer's talent and abilities, the Mumbai-born cricketer has struggled for consistency. He had an excellent campaign against Sri Lanka ahead of IPL 2022, hitting three back-to-back fifties.
Since then, he hasn't been up to the mark. He had a moderate campaign in the lucrative T20 league, scoring 401 runs in 14 matches, but his graph went down against South Africa. The 27-year-old hasn't hit his straps since.
With plenty of options available, the think tank of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid might have seen enough of Iyer as they look to pick the best options available for the T20 World Cup 2022.
#2 Struggle against short deliveries
Why India is playing Shreyas Iyer in T20 format, while world teams know that he can't play short pitch deliveries and the next world cup is going to be held in Australia.
In yesterday's match, he couldn't hit a single boundary against a fast bowler. I'm going with @HoodaOnFire. twitter.com/virendersehwag…
Iyer's weakness against short-pitched deliveries has continued to haunt him in the ongoing series against England. The bowlers used the bouncers as the go-to weapon against the middle-order batter.
His latest dismissal in the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge on Sunday also involved a similar delivery.
Shreyas Iyer is expected to struggle on the bouncy wickets in Australia during the T20 World Cup later this year. Hence, the Indian management should look beyond Iyer as the multi-nation tournament inches closer.
#1 Not an all-round option
With the growing demand for T20 cricket, teams are increasingly inclined to have more and more all-rounders on their roasters.
India captain Rohit Sharma will also look to have enough bowling options at his disposal as the Men in Blue chase their second T20 World Cup title. Shreyas Iyer, primarily a batter, will not be able to make all-round contributions to the side.
The team management is likely to prefer someone like Deepak Hooda, who can also chip in with a couple of overs if needed, besides his exploits with the bat.