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'Things have changed. He's one guy in danger of losing spot': Agarkar's big warning to India star despite strong outing
The former India star shot a big warning to the cricketer despite his strong performance in the first ODI against West Indies.
Team India secured a thrilling 3-run victory over the West Indies in the first ODI of the series in Port of Spain. After posting a strong score of 308/7 in fifty overs, India almost gave away the game in the final overs after Romario Shepherd took on the bowlers; however, Mohammed Siraj held his nerve as he successfully defended 15 runs in the final over. Among batters, captain Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer registered 50-plus scores.
While Dhawan and Gill forged a strong 119-run stand for the first wicket, Iyer, who made a comeback to the ODI XI after missing the last two ODIs against England earlier this month, scored an impressive 54. Even as Iyer remains the part of Indian squads across all three formats of the game, his appearances in the white-ball matches have been scattered over the past few months due to consistent performances from Suryakumar Yadav.
In fact, in the two ODIs which Iyer missed against England, India took the field with Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav at 3rd, 4th, and 5th positions respectively. And so, former India bowler Ajit Agarkar insisted that Iyer is in “danger” of losing his playing XI spot.
“Things have changed, haven't they? He is the one guy who is in danger of losing his spot a little bit. We know how well Suryakumar Yadav has played. Besides, there's another problem.. a couple of things that he needs to work on includes his short-ball issue,” Agarkar said during his on-air stint on FanCode.
“One thing he did today was that he left the (short) ball. You can only bowl two bouncers. So, you better get out of the way because that shot (pull) doesn't come naturally to him. Once he's set, maybe then he can play those deliveries. So, that's the one shot he shouldn't try too early. He has got enough ability,” Agarkar further said.
Team India will return for the second ODI of the series on July 24.
