“Shreyas Iyer will have to score runs here” - Aakash Chopra on significance of Indore ODI for Team India batter
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has stated that Shreyas Iyer will have to score runs in the second ODI against Australia in Indore on Sunday, keeping the World Cup in mind. Chopra opined that if the batter fails in the match, the Men in Blue will be in an extremely tricky situation heading into the ICC event.
Shreyas was run out for 3 off 8 balls in the opening ODI in Mohali following a mix-up with Shubman Gill. Earlier, he scored 14 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup group game, which was his comeback match after recovering from a back injury. However, he did not feature in the Super 4 round and the final of the tournament due to back spasms.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined [3:40] that the Indore one-dayer will be extremely crucial for Shreyas.
“This game is very important for Shreyas Iyer. He needs to hit form. Earlier, there was an issue with his fitness and now we have not seen his form as well. He hit a couple of good shots in the Asia Cup and then got injured. There was not much to judge in Mohali as he scored only three runs and then got run out," he said.
“Shreyas Iyer will have to score runs here. As much as you want stability and want to back someone, you do not want to enter the World Cup with a player on whose ability you do not have any doubt but are not sure about his form. India will need to analyze this aspect very closely,” the former opener added.
While Shreyas was dismissed cheaply in Mohali, half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav guided India to a five-wicket win in a chase of 277.
"You expect Shreyas Iyer to come back from this" - Abhishek Nayar
Former India cricketer Abhishek Nayar backed Shreyas to rediscover his batting form soon. According to Nayar, the 28-year-old has only registered a couple of low scores since returning from injury and those are not enough to make an assessment on him.
Throwing his weight behind the batter, Nayar told JioCinema:
“He's a professional cricketer and being part of the IPL setup for a long time and this Indian team for a couple of years now, he understands that you made a mistake and the communication wasn't great. It maybe wasn't the right time to pick that single. India were in a comfortable position. But you expect Shreyas Iyer to come back from this.”
Shreyas has featured in 45 ODIs so far, scoring 1648 runs at an average of 44.54, with two hundreds and 14 fifties.