Shreyas Iyer was left among the reserves of the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, eventually missing out on the tournament entirely. While he may be considered one of the first names on the team sheet in ODI cricket, especially on account of his extraordinary form last year, Iyer has not been able to nail down a spot for himself in a similar in T20Is and has admitted that missing out on the last year's tournament was a disappointment for him.
“It was disappointing. It is something that you dream as a kid, to represent your country at the biggest stage. Winning it for the team is also something which gives you the chills,” Iyer told Hindustan Times. The 28-year-old said that he didn't let the dejection get to his head though.
“But it was not that I was completely demotivated. I didn’t let that get into my mind. I was just doing my things right. I focused on myself. I took a break, went and played domestic cricket. It gave me more time to elevate my skills,” said Iyer. He said that he likes to interact with people and find out what they think about him when he faces disappointment.
“At the end of the day, you want to gain respect from your teammates and parents. It is something which motivates you as a player. It helps get the best out of you when under the pump and I love to do that. Whenever I am not feeling well, I interact with family and friends, try to take my mind off cricket so that I come back stronger. These are the small aspects I focus on; it has been going tremendously well for me,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“At the end of the day, you want to gain respect from your teammates and parents. It is something which motivates you as a player. It helps get the best out of you when under the pump and I love to do that. Whenever I am not feeling well, I interact with family and friends, try to take my mind off cricket so that I come back stronger. These are the small aspects I focus on; it has been going tremendously well for me,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Despite the T20 World Cup snub, Iyer's form in ODIs and Tests made him India's highest run scorer of 2022 accross formats. He scored 1489 runs in 38 innings across all formats. Meanwhile, his highest score is a knock of 113* runs off 111 balls in an ODI against South Africa in Ranchi. Apart from eye-catching performances in ODIs, Iyer also dug India out of trouble multiple times in their recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
“The talk that goes on outside tend to motivate me, get the best out of me. The more people talk about me, I listen to it and soak in the pressure. I tell myself I need to prove them wrong. That’s how I approach whenever I bat in the nets, or in the match. It acts as a kind of motivation. Even when I am playing against opposition who are chirping, I like to give it back because I feel it gets my rhythm going; it lifts me, makes me focus a lot,” he said.