IND vs SA 2022: "His spot will always be up for grabs" - Wasim Jaffer wants Shreyas Iyer to improve before Suryakumar Yadav's return
Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer wants Shreyas Iyer to improve his batting skills against fast-bowling and short-pitch bowling, saying his spot will be "up for grabs" once Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav return to India's T20I squad.
Iyer has scored 90 runs from three games against South Africa while batting at No. 3 in the ongoing five-match T20I series at home. Although he's among the top scorers for the hosts, the 27-year-old has looked uneasy against quick short-pitched deliveries. Observers believe that his technique is manageable in Indian conditions but might be exposed in Australia, where the 2022 T20 World Cup will be played.
In a recent interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer opined on Iyer's knock of 14 (11) in the third T20I and his overall game. He said:
"Shreyas Iyer is batting at No. 3 and you always have expectations from your top-order players because [they] get to play more overs. In the last match, it was a very good [opening] partnership and you [Iyer] try to play more shots than usual to continue that momentum and take your team to the score of 190-200. But yes... he needs to be a bit better against fast bowling because they bowl short against him. The T20 World Cup is in Australia where there will be bounce and it won't be easy to score runs square of the wicket on the big grounds. He needs to focus on that and improve a bit."
Suryakumar Yadav, who was brilliant for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2022 and missed the last few games due to an injury, is considered more adept against pace and equal against spin. Jaffer added that despite the pressure, Iyer's role is now to help India win the remaining two matches of the series. He explained:
"... His spot will always be up for grabs when Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav return to the team. But for now, he needs to play well in the next two matches for India to win the series."
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Iyer is part of the Test team that'll take on England in the pending fifth Test, which begins on July 1. Suryakumar has thus been added to the squad for the two-match T20I series in Ireland and is likely to occupy the No. 3 spot. His performances might determine who India prefer between the two in the next bilateral T20I series.
"Don't think we'll see any changes" - Wasim Jaffer
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Jaffer also shared his thoughts on possible changes India might make and how the pitch might play in the fourth T20I at Rajkot. He said despite Avesh Khan's wicketless display, he's unlikely to be subbed out after a win, adding that another high-scoring match that could test India's luck and batting ability is likely to unfold on Friday.
Jaffer explained:
"Avesh Khan is the only one in the Indian team who hasn't got a wicket and has proven to be a bit expensive. But considering India didn't make a change after losing two games, I don't think we'll see any changes in this match as well. Rahul Dravid and Rishabh Pant maybe want to continue with the winning combination. A new incoming player would be playing a game after a long time so you can't expect a lot from him... Had India won the series already, we might have seen some changes but this is a very important match to win for the series and we may not see too many changes."
Jaffer added:
"The Rajkot pitch is considered very good for batting. Expect a high-scoring match with 190-200 runs possible. The team winning the toss will want to bowl first... It's very hot in Rajkot at this time as well. So winning the toss is very important for India (smiles)... If they bat first - India will have to keep a similar approach (to the last match) and try to not make any mistakes between the 13th and 18th overs. South Africa tries to bowl outside the off-stump; Pretorius and the like keep it outside your arc... Keeping the Rajkot wicket in mind, you'll have to score 15-20 runs above par because defending the score won't be easy."
The match will kick off at 7:00 pm IST. You can catch all the live proceedings here.
Also Read: IND vs SA 2022: "He was playing with a lot of people sitting behind him to take his spot" - Wasim Jaffer hails Ruturaj Gaikwad