Aakash Chopra has spoken highly of Shreyas Iyer for bouncing back after his career seemed to be floundering slightly. Shreyas Iyer was Team India’s standout performer in the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka.
The 27-year-old smashed 204 runs in three matches without being dismissed even once and was duly adjudged the Player of the Series. He was not dismissed across the three matches, hitting 57* off 28, 74* off 44, and 73* off 45.
Aakash Chopra Reckons Shreyas Iyer Made A Brilliant Comeback After Being Named In Reserves Of 2021 T20I World Cup
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra lauded Shreyas Iyer for staging a brilliant comeback after almost being down and out.
He elaborated: “First, he got injured and then he didn’t have a place in the team. He was in the reserves for the World Cup, lost the captaincy of his franchise. I mean all looked done and dusted. There was a question mark on Shreyas Iyer’s career, there were some black clouds but Shreyas Iyer is back.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Shreyas Iyer was given a chance at the No.4 position after losing out on a spot in India’s 2019 World Cup side.
Aakash Chopra said: “Everything was going well. It seemed the player is mature, no one will be able to touch him, he got the opportunity to play at No.4 because the middle muddle was there from before the 2019 World Cup. Shreyas had got few chances before that and he had scored runs there but he suddenly became out of favor.”
Shreyas Iyer gave an excellent account of himself in the ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2017. However, he was sidelined when some of the first-team regulars returned to the side.
Shreyas Iyer made a remarkable comeback from injury last year, gaining a Test cap and scoring a hundred on debut in the Test format before being named as the new captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders for the IPL 2022 and capping off a sensation run in the bilateral T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Aakash Chopra Reckons Shreyas Iyer Has Cemented His Place At No. 4
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Shreyas Iyer had almost sealed his place as the No.4 batter with his exploits after the 2019 World Cup.
He explained: “He was called back as soon as the World Cup got over and the lad played well, struck a century in Hamilton. He played well continuously after that, had an average of almost 40-50 and then there was a discussion that no questions will be raised on his name and that No.4 was cemented.”
The 44-year-old added that things turned downhill when Shreyas Iyer got injured and even lost the Delhi Capitals’ captaincy to Rishabh Pant. Rishabh Pant was named as the captain for the first half of the IPL 2021 season and was retained for the position even when Shreyas Iyer had returned for the second half of IPL 2021 in the UAE.
Aakash Chopra observed: “Then he got an injury at the wrong time. Then so many things changed suddenly, it seemed the career is coming to a grinding halt. Delhi Capitals gave the captaincy to Pant and stuck with him even when Shreyas became available. Injury and then not such a great second half of the IPL, found himself in the reserves for the World Cup.”
Aakash Chopra concluded by pointing out that Shreyas Iyer got a lucky break when he got to play the Kanpur Test against New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer was preferred for the home series against the Kiwis ahead of Hanuma Vihari. He scored a century and a half-century in the two innings of the first Test when Virat Kohli was rested and has since not looked back.
Shreyas Iyer was released by the Delhi Capitals franchise, who had retained Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, and Anrich Nortje ahead of the mega auction. He was later roped in by KKR for INR 12.25 crore and was then named their new captain.