India vs South Africa: 3 reasons why Shreyas Iyer deserves a spot ahead of Hanuma Vihari
Heading into the first Test match on Boxing Day between India and South Africa, the visitors have five players who are sure to be a part of the playing XI. KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah are sure to start and Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin and Mohammed Shami could also get a look in.
However, there are few tactical selections that confront the new India management. Ajinkya Rahane is skating on extremely thin ice and he will be pushed by both Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer. If Virat Kohli wants to go in with five specialist bowlers, there could well be a toss up between Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer.
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Here we discuss reasons why India could play Shreyas Iyer ahead of Hanuma Vihari:
1.) Shreyas Iyer is a man in form
Shreyas Iyer is a man in form. He made his debut against New Zealand and made an immediate statement. He returned with scores of 105 and 65 on debut. When he walked out to bat, India were under pressure and he showed a lot of composure and panache and steered India to a position of domination.
He is already in India's white-ball team and in the series against New Zealand, Shreyas Iyer showed his capability against the red ball. If current form is anything to go by, Shreyas Iyer should make it to the playing XI.
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2.) An attacking mindset
Shreyas Iyer has dominated domestic attacks in first-class cricket and his strike rate is 80.22 from 56 matches. This attacking approach could well benefit India in South Africa as the pitches will aid pacers and the outfield assists quick scoring.
In the past, defensive approach has not quite benefited sides and India could opt for the attacking option in both Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. In the last tour to South Africa, the Proteas fast bowlers delivered 91.34% of the balls and the way Shreyas Iyer countered both Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson is a testament to his skillsets against high-quality seam bowlers.
For this Boxing Day Test match, Shreyas Iyer could well be India's X factor and can well pip Hanuma Vihari considering his form and the ability to soak up pressure and then wrest away the momentum.
3.) Shreyas Iyer has to get a long rope
For his impressive debut against New Zealand, Shreyas Iyer deserves to get an extended rope in the middle order. If Virat Kohli wants to play six specialist batters, he could well opt for Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari at number 5 and 6 positions.
Vihari has always walked out to bat in tough conditions overseas. In 11 away Tests Hanuma Vihari averages 34.11 which is better than Cheteshwar Pujara (34.00) and Virat Kohli (32.11).
He was also impressive for India A against South Africa A last month and has understood the conditions. Having said this, Shreyas Iyer has performed for India in Test matches and he deserves to be rewarded with the long rope even if it means he is preferred over Hanuma Vihari.