Indian middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer, after being left out of the BCCI Central Contract list last year, had a stunning comeback in the international arena this year and has now opened up on the whole process and how he disciplined himself in terms of playing domestic cricket for Mumbai.
The memento was given to Iyer at the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards in Mumbai, celebrating his great contributions toward the Men in Blue’s second consecutive white-ball title within a span of less than a year since ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Iyer, who was one of the key members for the ICC Champions Trophy-winning India team, ended as the second-highest run-getter with 243 runs from five innings at an average of 48.60 with two fifties, his best being 79.
He went on to describe his difficult journey beginning from being left out of the contract list to performing at his best and clinching the CT title, winning an IPL title with KKR as captain last year, and then winning the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy with Mumbai, also as captain, as a “rollercoaster ride” during which things seemed “in shambles and helter skelter” for awhile.
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“I was setting my routine for actions: I had to discipline myself and play domestic cricket. I returned to my Mumbai days, played the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I deliver performances in all of these tournaments, which really gave me a boost in terms of momentum and confidence before CT. Then I was lucky to have the opportunity to feature in ODIs against England and stamp my authority there (181 runs in three matches with two fifties at an average of over 60 and a strike rate of over 123),” said Iyer.
Talking about his approach in ODI cricket, Iyer said that he loves playing the situation as well as putting himself in pressure situations.
“During the CT, I was in a position where I had to play ball to ball at the start and then put myself into pressure and charge against the bowlers. We thought in Dubai, 250-300 was a winnable total. My job was to take the team to that total, and then after that, let us see what happens. Given our line-up and our bowlers, confidence was immense that we would be able to defend that. “We used to be very confident of chasing too,” reminisced the middle-order powerhouse.
Iyer further mentioned how, over the last two years, critics kept telling him that he couldn’t play a certain shot – that he was weak against pulling a short ball. When he returned to ODIs this year, it was obvious that he had worked on his game, as he sent short-pitched deliveries from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to the stands with disdain.
“For the last two years, people talked about me not being able to play a certain shot, and when I came back I wanted to prove them wrong. I worked on myself, wanted to take on the bowlers – it was all me, I had to challenge myself to put myself in that pressure situation to take on the bowlers. It’s a matter of practice. The more you hit that shot, practice against difficult bowlers, the more confident you get,” he concluded.
Currently, Iyer will be displeased in action during the three-match ODIs scheduled in Australia against the hosts away from October 19 onwards. He has played three ODIs in Australia with 59 runs from three innings averaging 19.66 and a best score of 38.
So far this year, he has aggregated 424 runs in eight ODIs in as many innings at the average of 53.00 with a strike rate of 93.59, scoring four 50s and a highest of 79.
