"He is making his case very strong" - Irfan Pathan on whether Shreyas Iyer will make India's squad for the T20 World Cup

Shreyas Iyer gave a decent account of himself in the first two T20Is against South Africa [P/C: BCCI]

Irfan Pathan believes Shreyas Iyer is making a strong case for him to be included in Team India's squad for the T20 World Cup to be played in Australia later this year.

Shreyas has had mixed returns in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. While he made decent contributions in the first two games, he was dismissed cheaply in the last two encounters.

During an interaction on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan was asked whether Shreyas would make it to India's T20 World Cup squad. He responded:

"T20 World Cup is still far away. But apart from these couple of games, he has done well, be it the series against Sri Lanka or West Indies before the IPL. So yes, he is making his case very strong."

The former Indian all-rounder added that the Mumbai batter is the sort of player the Men In Blue need. Pathan explained:

"He performed really well, he is just coming hard against the bowlers from the word go and that's the kind of character you need as well when you want someone to bat higher up the order."

Shreyas Iyer vs Sri Lanka 2022:

Won the man of the match in 2nd T20
Won the man of the match in 3rd T20
Won the man of the series in T20 series.
Won the man of the match in 2nd Test.

Dream run. https://t.co/pS6Sj7upwD

Shreyas was Team India's star performer in the T20I series against Sri Lanka before IPL 2022. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper smashed unbeaten half-centuries in all three games to walk home with the 'Player of the Series' award.

"As far as the fast bowling is concerned, he needs to get better" - Irfan Pathan on Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has been found slightly wanting against the pacers [P/C: BCCI]

On the flip side, Pathan did point out an area of improvement in Shreyas' game. He elaborated:

"At the same time, as far as the fast bowling is concerned, he needs to get better, and obviously because the World Cup is still far away, quite a few games he will be playing. In those games, whenever he is getting the opportunity after all the guys come in, he needs to make sure that he has a consistent performance."

It's analysis ⏲️ with @IrfanPathan & he's dissecting Shreyas Iyer's performance against pace.

Hear from the expert on #MatchPoint & #BelieveInBlue for the 5th Paytm #INDvSA T20I:

#Byjus #CricketLIVE | June 19, from 6 PM | Star Sports Network & Disney+Hotstar https://t.co/CBqmhy1dEY

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by stating that Shreyas should be in the selectors' scheme of things. Pathan reasoned:

"He is a guy for the future, you need to keep that in mind. He has done well in Test cricket, whenever he is getting an opportunity in white-ball cricket, he is putting his hands up and doing well, so he is a guy the selectors need to keep an eye on."

Shreyas has shown his might while playing the spinners in the T20I series against the Proteas. However, he has struggled slightly against the South African pacers. The selectors might thereby be slightly skeptical about picking him for the T20 World Cup to be played on fast and bouncy pitches in Australia.

Also Read: "Iyer my friend, please be on fire" - Aakash Chopra makes his predictions for the 5th India vs South Africa T20I