"It all seems a bit too sloppy" - Kevin Pietersen slams Shreyas Iyer after yet another failure in IND vs ENG 2nd Test
Former England batter Kevin Pietersen was a bit baffled with the way Indian batter Shreyas Iyer approached his innings during Day 1 of the ongoing Test in Visakhapatnam on Friday (February 2).
Iyer was dismissed for 27 runs off 59 balls, failing to convert yet another start in the longest format of late. Pietersen feels that the right-hander didn't inspire any confidence while he was at the crease and used the word 'sloppy' to describe the innings in one word.
Speaking to Jio Cinema during the tea break on Day 1, here's what Kevin Pietersen had to say about Shreyas Iyer's knock:
"You got to really grab the game by the scruff of its neck and say I am not letting go here. I am afraid to say with Shreyas it all seems a bit too sloppy. Sloppy is the word. Today’s innings didn’t impress me at all. Because I want people in my dressing room that are more hungry than that."
Shreyas Iyer tried to cut a delivery from Tom Hartley, but could only get an under edge to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who completed a fantastic catch. He was distraught after the dismissal and understandably so.
Kevin Pietersen on Shreyas Iyer's leg-shuffle
Kevin Pietersen was also a bit irritated with the way Shreyas Iyer sometimes shuffled towards the leg-side just as he was about to face a delivery. While the idea from the batter was to disturb the rhythm of the bowler, Pietersen felt Iyer was just doing himself a disservice.
On this, the former cricketer stated:
"If you really want to make a go and put pressure on the bowler, this (gestures the leg-side shuffling movement) doesn’t put the pressure on the bowler. It does nothing to the bowler. You got to show more intent.”
Pietersen further added:
"On this wicket, why are you doing that? That’s my question: what’s the point in doing that? What you are doing is you are messing yourself up, losing where your stumps are as a batter . I am more comfortable if you are coming towards the bowler, this here does nothing for me."
The failure on Friday has extended Shreyas Iyer's lean patch in Tests to 11 innings with just 158 runs. Pietersen believes that once the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are back for selection, Iyer could regret these missed opportunities to score big.