"Shreyas Iyer and short ball story still continues" - Twitter fumes after the right-handed batter goes for a golden duck in the third T20I
Team India batter Shreyas Iyer's struggles with the short ball continued as he perished against Tim Southee for a first-ball duck in the third T20I against New Zealand on Tuesday, November 22.
The Mumbai-born batter came in to bat at No. 4 yet again after both openers departed early in the powerplay while chasing the 161-run target set by New Zealand.
With his issues with the short ball well documented, Southee bowled a bouncer right up front. Rising to his chest, Iyer tried to awkwardly fend it off to the third man. However, he could not play the stroke with soft hands and failed to get on top of the bounce, leading to a soft dismissal.
Jimmy Neesham safely took the catch at first slip to reduce India to 23-3 in the third over.
Twitter remarked on the right-handed batter's glaring issue with the bouncer and feels that it needs to be rectified immediately if he wants to cement his place in the squad, especially in overseas conditions. Here are some of the reactions:
Story of iyer and short ball is never ending....starting from 2015 untill now. For me he should be write off from T20 and Test(barrage of bouncers). He should be only in consideration in ODIs.
@nk19tweets @CricCrazyJohns Iyerrrr 🤡🤡🤣🤣 against quality bowling - 0(1)
🤡🤡🤣🤣 home track bully Iyer https://t.co/wsuAvjqMqt
Well why is taking Iyer so long to overcome his weakness against short balls? Even a bowler would have learnt by now
Those who are saying Shreyas Iyer is a good white ball cricket needs to see how he is getting out. It's too easy. Bang it in short first ball and he is giving catching practice. He doesn't have a place in this side outside of India #NZvsIND #NZvIND
I blinked once and shreyas Iyer is out. KL 2.0 . Bhuvi,Kl,Iyer are The most illogical selection in playing 11. #INDvsNZ #iyer
Shreyas Iyer would also struggle in odi against short ball .
Don't know why south african bowlers didn't bowled short to him .
Oh wait how Nortje and Rabada can bowl short to their previous DC captain
#NZvsIND #INDvsNZ #RishabhPant #SanjuSamson
My friend who is underaged got entry inside a club.
Turns out Shreyas Iyer was the bouncer. https://t.co/wAL0K4dlBE
Shreyas Iyer can't play short ball at the moment. He needs to work on it bigtime. Players can't be selected when they have weakness. Remember, Prithvi shaw was dropped after one test in australia due to his faulty technic.Iyer must be dropped too.#NZvIND
S iyer (after golden duck) :- It's a crime to waste balls in t20 cricket
@BCCI
Don't worry short ball Iyer, you'll get 199 chances. https://t.co/PCaBK3uBwS
That’s why we picked Iyer over Samson. To remind us of the good old 90s when Indian batsmen were petrified by short balls!Well done👏
#indvsnzlive
Teams are now telegraphing their intentions and getting Shreyas Iyer with the short ball. Are Iyer's short-ball issues more pronounced and enduring than Suresh Raina's?
@SushantNMehta Why Shreyas Iyer - is there anything still left to prove about his inability to play even the most rudimentary short bowling
Iyer shouldn't be anywhere near T20 setup
Even club bowler knows Shreyas Iyer has issue with short balls and yet @BCCI selectors promote him and take him to the test also 😅
Whom to blame 😕
#IndvsNZ
#indvsnzlive
Shreyas Iyer thinks ONLY about the short ball even before the delivery is bowled, he can’t continue in the team like this. Embarrassing.
Shreyas Iyer's last T20I fifty as a non-opening batter came in February 2022
The right-handed batter's T20I spot might be at risk, especially with a slew of names waiting for an opportunity. His last T20I fifty came during the tour of the West Indies, where he availed the chance to open the innings.
However, his last credible performance in the format came during the home season against Sri Lanka in February 2022, where he was also adjudged Player of the Series for three consecutive fifties.
Iyer's dismissal has put Team India in a rough spot of bother in the run chase. The top-order collapse put pressure on the middle order, leading to the early dismissal of the in-form Suryakumar Yadav for just 13 runs.
At the time of writing, India were placed 71-4 in the ninth over, with skipper Hardik Pandya sharing the crease with Deepak Hooda. The two sides are also keeping an eye on the DLS par score with the threat of rain looming by.
Should DLS scores be level in the event of rain interruptions, the match will be adjudged as a tie.
How should Shreyas Iyer address the issues of his short-ball woes? Let us know what you think.