Former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara said the series win against New Zealand will definitely boost Shreyas Iyer’s confidence. India is all set to take on the Kiwis in a five-match series and they have their work cut out in challenging conditions.
Recently, India played a 2-2 draw against the West Indies after winning Gold medal at the Asian Games. Iyer had a tough start to his captaincy tenure, suffering series loss against Ireland and England on the UK tour.
However, India was able to register 3-0 series wins against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.
“When you go to New Zealand and defeat the New Zealand team, it’s a big achievement. Performing well in overseas conditions for the Indian team in any format, whether it is ODIs, T20Is, or a Test match, boosts your confidence. If you do well there as a captain or as a team, your confidence goes up, that you can perform well not just in Indian conditions, but anywhere in the world,” Pujara said on JioStar.
On the other hand, former Indian assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said India didn’t travel a lot under former captain Suryakumar Yadav whereas it has been the opposite under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership.
“It’s not about whether he’s worthy or not in comparison to Surya, because, at that time, India played a lot of series in India. They didn’t travel a lot. After Shreyas Iyer took up captaincy, they’ve gone to England, and now they’re going to New Zealand. So, a lot of the T20Is have been played away from home, in Zimbabwe and Japan. I remember that, building up to the T20 World Cup, we were playing a lot more at home and in subcontinental conditions than away. So, that comparison is out of the way.”
He concluded, “Whenever you go to New Zealand and win in foreign conditions, I think that captain will feel in control of the team and earn the respect of everyone around him, because that’s where you are judged the most. So, if you win, like they say, it’s a star on your chest, going to New Zealand and winning the series. It didn’t happen in England, but it happened here, if it does happen. So, it will be one of those things for him personally, that ‘I can win abroad as well’ as a captain,” Nayar said on JioStar.
Iyer would look to get the best out of his players on the New Zealand tour.
