Former Australia and KKR spinner Brad Hogg criticised Shreyas Iyer for preferring to join the IPL franchise for preparation over playing domestic cricket. Iyer has been under the scanners after losing his BCCI central contract as former cricketers and critics have been sharing their views on the matter as Hogg also joined the bandwagon.
Iyer was dropped from India's Test squad after the second Test against England, according to reports Iyer complained about back pain but the NCA doctors declared him fit as BCCI asked him to play Ranji Trophy. The stylish Mumbai batter missed the Ranji quarterfinal as he later faced the consequences of getting dropped from the BCCI's central contract.
Meanwhile, some reports also suggested that Iyer joined the Kolkata Knight Riders training camp while missing the Ranji Trophy which also miffed the BCCI.
Hogg asserted that unless you are a player of Virat Kohli's stature, you have to play domestic cricket when you are dropped from the senior national side.
"If you have time to play domestic cricket, you have to do that. For Iyer, you can't be just going and practising with your franchise as I have heard rumours that that has happened. You got to go back to the state team. If you're not playing international cricket, you have to play state cricket unless you're Virat Kohli who has played so much cricket around the year and really needs a break to rejuvenate," Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
Also Read | 'Virat Kohli has hinted…': AB de Villiers' update quashes Gavaskar's 'may not play IPL' theory?
{{/usCountry}}"If you have time to play domestic cricket, you have to do that. For Iyer, you can't be just going and practising with your franchise as I have heard rumours that that has happened. You got to go back to the state team. If you're not playing international cricket, you have to play state cricket unless you're Virat Kohli who has played so much cricket around the year and really needs a break to rejuvenate," Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
Also Read | 'Virat Kohli has hinted…': AB de Villiers' update quashes Gavaskar's 'may not play IPL' theory?
{{/usCountry}}The former Aussie spinner also gave his take on Pat Cummins' appointment as Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper in place of Aiden Markram.
Cummins, who was bought by SRH for a whopping INR 20.5 crore, was named the skipper ahead of the upcoming season. Hogg feels it is going to be a transitional phase for him as he doesn't know much about the franchise yet.
"The only thing about Pat Cummins coming and captaining the (SRH) team is that he hasn't been able to be around the group for long. He has got to learn the franchise and I think it will be a transition period there. But I feel Cummins is strong and mature enough to counteract that. I think that's going to be a good acquisition. He will do a lot of study before he goes out there and what will be the best combination."