The right-handed batter has fallen victim to the short ball and has looked shaky against it at times as well. His penchant for spin bowling, coupled with his excellent front-foot play, has prompted opposition fast bowlers to target Iyer with a barrage of bouncers.

Right from franchise cricket to the international level, he has been a victim of the ploy. Despite this tactic, he has emerged as Team India’s leading run-scorer across formats in 2022 after scoring 1609 runs from 39 matches.

Addressing his short-ball concerns that have been fabricated by the people, and something which every batter has gone through over the course of their careers, Iyer said in an interview with Hindustan Times:

One of Shreyas Iyer’s best performances in 2022 came during the recent tour of Bangladesh. The Mumbai-born batter scored a counter-attacking 87 in the first innings of the second Test and chipped in with a crucial unbeaten 29 in the nervy fourth innings run chase.

Recalling how he prepared for the impending short-ball barrage by Bangladesh pacers Taskin Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed, Iyer said:

He continued:

Iyer has more or less sealed his position in the middle-order in red-ball cricket. The right-handed batter has hardly put a foot wrong since making his debut against New Zealand in late 2021.

“Kept my mindset right and turned a deaf ear to outside noise” - Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer managed to imprint an impression across Tests and ODIs in 2022 while the focus was largely on the shortest format of the game. The year also saw the player switch franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the mega-auctions and was appointed their captain as well.

Stating that he chose to keep things simple while playing his part on the field, Iyer said:

He added:

Iyer has a crucial year ahead of him with his favored formats taking precedence. He is primed to play a key role in the middle order across both ODIs and Tests as Team India aims to scale the coveted World Test Championship (WTC) and ODI World Cup double.

Has Shreyas Iyer conquered his issues against the short ball? Let us know what you think.

0 votes