Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif lavished praise on Shreyas Iyer after the batter made a decent comeback to International cricket. India registered a four-wicket win against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara on Sunday, and Iyer scored 49 runs off 47 balls in the run chase of 301.

Iyer, who was making a return to the Indian squad after recovering from a serious spleen injury, was bowled by Kyle Jamieson. The Mumbai batter added 77 runs off 76 balls with Virat Kohli for the fourth wicket but India lost three quick wickets in the space of three overs to veer off the track.

Kaif noted that Iyer did not look rusty despite coming back to action after a long injury layoff.

Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “Look, Iyer also has a bit of Sehwag and Jaiswal’s style, that when he gets out, you feel, ‘What recklass shot was that?’ But I feel that his contribution at number four has been very valuable whenever he plays.”

“I will praise him. Shreyas deserves credit because he did not look rusty at all. After such a long time, playing in a single format, not playing Tests or T20s regularly, and only getting 10 to 15 ODIs in a year, coming back after such a long gap and batting the way he did, I will give him credit. He did not panic under pressure. Many batters will come, will look rusty, and will get beaten, but he came and counter-attacked. That is not an easy task,” he added.

He continued, “There is also pressure because there is a lot of competition in the team. Gaikwad is waiting outside after scoring a hundred, Jaswal is waiting outside after a hundred, the competition for spots is huge. So when you return after an injury and bat like that in this style, I give him credit. Although he got out and it looked a bit sloppy, as I had said, when he gets out it will look that way. But I feel that the way he batted and contributed at number four, he answered a problem that had existed for years.”

The second ODI between India and New Zealand will be played at Rajkot on Wednesday.