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‘Real possibility to become India captain': New Zealand great Scott Styris' surprising take on youngster
With the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya racking up runs in the middle order, it might be difficult for Iyer to hold his spot if he continues to get himself in awkward positions. Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris, however, has a different opinion on the Mumbai right-hander.
Shreyas Iyer's weakness against the short-pitched deliveries aimed at his body is an open secret now. In the home T20I series against South Africa, in the rescheduled fifth Test match in England and also in the white-ball series that followed, Iyer was targetted by the opposition bowlers with a barrage of short-pitched stuff and neither did he look comfortable nor he managed to score freely. With the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya racking up runs in the middle order, it might be difficult for Iyer to hold his spot if he continues to get himself in awkward positions. Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris, however, has a different opinion on the Mumbai right-hander.
Styris went to the extent of saying that Iyer has the ability to lead India in the future and hence should be given more opportunities to find an answer to the short ball weakness. "What I really like about Shreyas Iyer is the leadership qualities that he possesses. I think he's a real possibility to be a captain as well for India. For that reason, I would like to see him in and even give him more and more opportunities to be around this squad," Styris said on Sports18’s show ‘Sports Over The Top.’
Watch: Fan braves rain, waits for 2 hours to meet Shreyas Iyer and then…
Iyer, who has captained Delhi Capitals in the IPL, is currently the leader of Kolkata Knight Riders.
Styris compared Iyer's weakness to that of former India cricketer Suresh Raina and said he would one of the firsts on India's team sheet if he finds a way to deal with the short deliveries.
"What I don't like, the negative if you like, is that there is no secret about Shreyas. He has real problems with the short ball. I think you'll see a lot of teams attack him with the quick bowlers look to attack the body with the bouncer, go under the armpit if you like because I'm not sure he is found a way. He's almost a little bit like Suresh Raina in that regard where teams now know how to attack him. It's now up to Shreyas Iyer to find a way to succeed against that style of bowling. If he can do that, then I think he's one of the first names you write down in that Indian side. I really do like all the qualities about him, but until then, I think you've just got to give him opportunities and if he can’t find success then you need to find someone else who can, but he’s very talented," he added.
In India's first practice session ahead of the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, Iyer was seen batting long hours in the indoor nets at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, honing his skills against bouncers aimed at his body. In the absence of regular stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant, Iyer will look to put his best foot forward in the ODI series starting July 22.
