A blockbuster IPL season with the bat for the Punjab Kings must keep Shreyas Iyer in worthy contention of a recall into the T20I team for the Asia Cup, reckoned former India opener Aakash Chopra.
With the squad announcement slated to be held on Tuesday, the Indian Express has learnt that Iyer is in stiff competition with at least three other players for the final spot in the Suryakumar Yadav-led side.
“Shreyas Iyer needs to be spoken about because when we were watching the Champions Trophy, no Indian player was better than him in the middle overs. He was the guy who was taking the attack to the opposition. He was the guy who was hitting boundaries whenever he wished, and removing the pressure on the batter at the other end,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Iyer walloped over 600 runs for the first time in an IPL season, with his 175.07 strike rate ranking the best among all batters. Iyer also clobbered 39 sixes as Punjab finished runners-up under his leadership.
ALSO READ | Can Tilak Varma hold off spin-bashing Shreyas Iyer from the India T20I No 3 spot?
Stiff fight for the No. 3 spot
“After that came the IPL. There were plenty of pressures. This was Shreyas Iyer’s best-ever IPL season. We have repeatedly seen that T20 selections are based on IPL performances. We have seen that with Varun Chakaravarthy, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and everyone. If we see it from that token, Shreyas Iyer deserves to play,” he observed.
However, Chopra conceded that though Iyer may make the cut to the squad, he would find it hard to pip Hyderabad batter Tilak Varma, who had struck back-to-back centuries in South Africa last year. Despite batting at No.s 4 and 5 in the IPL with Mumbai Indians, Tilak is likely to be persisted with at one-down in the T20I set-up.
Story continues below this ad
“We have built a case that Shreyas’ name should be there, but the truth is that Tilak Varma is playing either at No. 3 or No. 4. Since he has started playing at No. 3, he has been unstoppable. Since he bats lower down the order in the IPL, it’s an apple vs orange comparison. If you see his numbers, you feel the guy hasn’t done anything wrong,” he said.
“He also allows us one more thing. You can maintain a left-right combination. Will you drop Tilak Varma from the XI because I believe Shreyas Iyer’s best place to bat is either No. 3 or No. 4? If he goes to No. 5, I think it will be a little too low in T20 cricket, and Surya is at No. 4,” Chopra observed.
Iyer last featured in a T20I for India in December 2023. In 51 T20Is, the Mumbaikar has recorded 1104 runs, averaging 30.66.
