One of the biggest criticisms Virat Kohli has faced during his captaincy is the constant changing of the playing XI. Team India under Kohli has always seen some changes to the starting 11 with players not being given a long rope to justify their position. One such instance was visible during India’s tour of Australia.
Shreyas Iyer has been earmarked a No.4 batsman for Team India and he looked comfortable in that position during the previous series against New Zealand. But Iyer did not look at his best in the three ODIs he played in Australia and was subsequently dropped from the playing 11 for the first T20I.
Manish Pandey came in for him but he also could not perform. Virender Sehwag had criticised the constant changes in the team and those views have been echoed by former India batsman Mohammad Kaif. While speaking on Sony Sports, Kaif said that he is not surprised at Iyer’s exclusion as this is the ‘culture of the Indian team’ now.
“Shreyas Iyer had become your main player at one point. That he is your No.4 batsman, who finishes the game. Whether you talk about the IPL or go back to the New Zealand series, there also he finished games at No.4. He scored 50 not out or 33 not out, he was playing well at the No.4 position. He had two or three bad innings in the ODI, so they didn’t play him in the first T20I. This is the culture of the Indian team and we have all understood that. I am not surprised that he is dropped,” Kaif said.
{{/usCountry}}“Shreyas Iyer had become your main player at one point. That he is your No.4 batsman, who finishes the game. Whether you talk about the IPL or go back to the New Zealand series, there also he finished games at No.4. He scored 50 not out or 33 not out, he was playing well at the No.4 position. He had two or three bad innings in the ODI, so they didn’t play him in the first T20I. This is the culture of the Indian team and we have all understood that. I am not surprised that he is dropped,” Kaif said.
{{/usCountry}}“This is the sort of thinking of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri and the players are also understanding that. The players also know that they will get just two innings, this is the sort of team it is.”
Iyer was one of the highest run-getters in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League. He scored 519 runs in 17 matches as he led Delhi Capitals to the finals.