Shreyas Iyer: Shocked when I heard I had gone for Rs. 2.6 cr
Shreyas Iyer is one of the most promising upcoming Indian cricketers, but he says that he could not believe what he had heard when he got the news from one of his teammates that he had been snapped up by the Delhi Daredevils to become the most expensive uncapped player in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) auction at Rs. 2.6 cr.
The 20-year-old was playing in a Ranji Trophy match at the time of the auction and had just been dismissed when he came back to the dressing room to find out his billing from one of his teammates.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, Iyer said: “My first response to him was 'stop kidding and tell me the real amount'. I was expecting around 70 to 80 lakhs. That's what my team-mates said would be reasonable. Then another guy came out and congratulated me on getting 2.6 crore. Still I couldn't believe them.
“They kept insisting that was what I'd got, so I said 'okay, okay, whatever, I'll find out later, I know you guys have planned something. Then eventually I realised that they were serious and that I'd gone for 2.6 cr. I was shocked.”
Iyer enjoys playing in front of huge crowds
Iyer, in his maiden Ranji Trophy season (2014/15), finished as the highest run-getter for Mumbai, scoring 809 runs at an impressive average of 50.56 and notched up two hundreds and six fifties.
Success in the longer form of domestic cricket prompted the Delhi Daredevils management to buy the talented batsman at the auction. The Mumbaikar expressed his thoughts on batting in front of huge crowds and how he deals with fast bowling in the IPL.
“I really feel happy playing in such an atmosphere. It is an adrenalin rush. I love it. When people watch you, you really feel good. You want to do well in front of a big crowd. I don't make any changes to my game when moving from first-class to the IPL.
“I just stick to what I know. I've got a good technique, which makes me confident. Its not a big problem for me to move from facing bowlers at 130kph to 140kph. I like to play my shots from the start. If I see that the ball is in my range, I play my natural game. This has helped me in the IPL,” Iyer added.
Iyer thankful to Yuvraj and Zaheer
Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh are the two senior Indian players in the Delhi Daredevils side and Iyer says that they have helped him a lot. He also stated that he did not take much time to fit into the team.
“Yuvraj and Zaheer Khan have been very open and I've been able to ask them a lot. They've been frank with me. Yuvraj, before the game in which I got 60, came up to me and told me to just keep my mind blank. He told me to just react to the ball and stop thinking, forget whatever the coaches had told me. He said to just go play your natural game.
“I followed his advice and it worked for me that day. Zaheer has given be tips on how to play the seamers at the start of an innings, what sort of things to watch out for. Its been great,” he said.
Iyer loves watching AB de Villiers bat
The youngster does not have a role model as such, but he enjoys watching AB de Villiers bat.
Speaking about the South African ODI captain, Iyer said: “What a player. It is such a pleasure to watch him changing the format of batting. He can play a shot to every delivery. If I ever meet him, I will first ask him 'are you human?'”
Shreyas has scored 144 runs in the 5 matches he has played so far for the Delhi Daredevils with a top score of 60 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.