Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar has heaped praise on Shreyas Iyer and said he is playing his role brilliantly.
Iyer didn’t get his chances in the T20I series against the West Indies but he has been given the onus to bat at number three by the team management, which he has grabbed with both hands in the absence of Virat Kohli.
The right-hander had provided the finishing touches in the first T20I against Sri Lanka at Lucknow as he scored 57 runs off just 28 balls despite getting off to a slow start. Iyer continued his good form in the second T20I as he scored an unbeaten knock of 74 runs off just 44 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes to help India chase down 184 runs at Dharamshala on Saturday.
Iyer has been timing the ball to perfection and he has done a fine job while batting in the middle order. The right-hander has the skills to hit the ground running and he is playing with aplomb against Sri Lanka.
Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports, “He [Shreyas] has become a versatile player, reads the situation well and is playing his role brilliantly. In my opinion, he has become an extremely versatile player because he plays at three, four or five and sometimes he has to go at No.6 as well.”
“The advantage of playing at every position is that you understand how to play according to the situation and target your scoring areas. He targeted to score runs down the ground against Binura Fernando and against rest of the bowlers, who had pace, he tried to score runs square off the wicket.”
On the other hand, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan showered praise on Iyer’s shot selection. The right-hander played shots along the ground in the initial phase of his knock and he was able to get going.
Pathan said, “The along the ground straight drives we got to see, the straight pull shots as well, the thinking was very good. The sixes were also not against the spin but with the angle as the left-arm spinner was only trying to bowl straight.”
However, Pathan feels Iyer needs to improve his technique while playing the short-pitched deliveries and he can become a complete batter if he does that.
“There is just one thing that Shreyas Iyer will have to work on going ahead, the 140 kph deliveries coming towards his head. If he works slightly on that, there are a lot of things to like about him – his approach and consistency.”
The third T20I will be played on Sunday.
