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Cricket Players'His feet dance and not only for the reels': Aakash Chopra hails Bengaluru Test star for standout performances vs SL
Chopra pointed out that the player had suffered a few setbacks over the years but has grabbed every opportunity that has come his way in recent months.
Shreyas Iyer continued on his brilliant performances in debut Test series against New Zealand by playing a major role in India's dominant win over Sri Lanka and former opener Aakash Chopra was all praise for how the 27-year-old has overcome adversity over the last few years. Iyer, who scored a century on his Test debut against New Zealand, was declared player of the match in the second Test against Sri Lanka after scoring 92 and 67.
“The confidence he (Shreyas) showed, his feet dance and not only for the reels but also on the pitch. He doesn't play the sweep but despite that, he scores runs on a turning pitch. He hits sixes while standing in his position, he played knocks that win your heart. The dominance with which he played was really admirable,” Chopra said on his Youtube channel.
"It was a continuation for him from the T20s. I even asked him after the match if we should put the Sri Lankan team in the IPL because you hit them so much, so why not take them along with you, you can play them as well."
Iyer was dominant in the three-match T20I series before the Tests, remaining unbeaten on 57, 73 and 74. The 92 he scored in the first Test came off just 98 balls.
Chopra pointed out that Iyer has overcome a period in which he was not selected in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup and lost his captaincy with the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a long spell on the sidelines after sustaining an injury while fielding in an ODI against England in March 2021.
"He was absolutely brilliant. He got injured and after that, the form was also going fifty-fifty. Then you lost the captaincy as well, wasn't scoring that many runs, did not get a place in the team for the World Cup but after that, once the story changes, this boy became unstoppable.
“The 92-run knock in the first innings and the half-century in the second, both came on a bad pitch, I think they were worth their weight in gold. He was batting at No. 6, he was not playing at No. 5 and I feel we missed him in South Africa because you needed somebody with form and there wasn't a lot of form in the middle order,” he said.
