Shreyas Iyer has been in poor form in the ongoing tournament, having just scored 134 runs in six matches.
New Delhi: Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has pointed out that Indian batter Shreyas Iyer is overthinking about the short ball in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. This comment came after Iyer was dismissed after just scoring four runs against the defending champions, England, at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29.
Indian Pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami led the demolition of England, beating the defending champions by 100 runs.
With this, India is at the top with six wins in six matches and has 12 points. England is at the bottom with one win and five losses in six games.
In a recent interaction with A Sports, the former Pakistani said that selecting Iyer might become difficult when Indian vice-captain Hardik Pandya returns from his ankle injury. The Men in Blue all-rounder, Pandya, picked up his injury during the match against Bangladesh in Pune. His injury might have ruled him out for India’s remaining group-stage matches.
“Hardik Pandya needs to make a comeback once he’s fit. Since the beginning, I’ve felt that KL Rahul at No. 5 is too late. He’s a skilled player and should bat at No. 4. When Hardik returns, Suryakumar Yadav can bat at 6, and Jadeja at 7. At that point, selecting Iyer would become challenging,” said Misbah.
“His average against fast bowling is around 19-20, and he struggles with short balls. When your weakness is exposed, all teams will take advantage of it. He anticipates the short ball, and often, even against short-of-length deliveries, which aren’t suitable for pulling, like the one against England, he attempts the shot. So, there’s an overthinking issue about the short ball, leading to trouble,” Misbah added.
The right-handed batter, Shreyas, has been in poor form in the ongoing prestigious tournament, having just scored 134 runs in six matches.
India’s next ICC Cricket World Cup match is against Sri Lanka at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on November 2.