Shreyas Iyer, after achieving a historic feat in Test cricket during the second Test against Sri Lanka, spoke about his approach and his future aspirations. For an outstanding 92 in the first innings, to ensure India posted 252, a magnificent 67 in the second, that helped his side post a hefty target for Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded pink-ball Test in Bengaluru, Shreyas Iyer won the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
His twin half-centuries in the second India-Sri Lanka Test not only helped Rohit Sharma clinch a clean sweep in his debut series as Test captain but also make a strong case for his spot in the side.
Shreyas Iyer Wasn’t Too Bothered About Missing Out On A Ton In India’s 1st Innings Of The 2nd Test
Courtesy of his fifties in both the outings at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Shreyas Iyer became the 10th Indian batter to do so. More importantly, he became the first player from India to achieve this feat in day-night pink-ball Tests. Shreyas Iyer, while speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, after receiving the trophy, talked about his approach and his aspirations.
“That wasn’t my normal approach but when I saw other batters struggling, I knew I had to attack. I was just trying to be one step of the bowlers. When the tail came in, I was on 55 and I added 37 more, so I wasn’t too bothered about missing out on a hundred,” said Shreyas Iyer in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We were given a target, and I was in the mindset to play as many balls as possible. I have always dreamt about being a Test player for India and playing alongside the greats and contributing at the highest level. I hope I can maintain that consistency in the time to come,” said Shreyas Iyer.
India got off to a poor start after opting to bat first in the 2nd Test before Shreyas Iyer bailed out the hosts with his fiery 92 off 98 balls. Although he missed out on a well-deserved century, he drew huge appreciation from veteran cricketers for his extraordinary knock. He followed his 92 runs in the 1st essay with 67 runs in the 2nd innings.
Shreyas Iyer To Be Kolkata Knight Riders’ Skipper In IPL 2022
Now, the focus for Indian players shifts to the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) edition. Shreyas Iyer will captain the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2022. The two-time former IPL champions bought him in the recent 2022 IPL auction for a whopping sum of Rs 12.25 crore. This will be the second time he will be captaining a side in the IPL after doing the same job for his former team Delhi Capitals from the mid-2018 season till 2020.
Shreyas Iyer will be the sixth player to lead KKR after Sourav Ganguly (2008-10), Brendon McCullum (2009), Gautam Gambhir (2011-17), Dinesh Karthik (2018-20) and Eoin Morgan (2020-21). Shreyas Iyer has played only 4 Tests but has amassed 388 runs averaging a respectable 55.43. He scored a ton on his debut against New Zealand. He averages 62 against Sri Lanka in this Test series accumulating 186 runs.
Shreyas Iyer was on Monday voted the ICC ‘Men’s Player of the Month’ for February. He earned the award on the back of his brilliant white-ball exploits during the home series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka respectively last month.
He aggregated 204 runs without being dismissed across three innings against Sri Lanka in T20Is at a highly impressive strike rate of 174.36. He registered scores of 57*(28), 74*(44) and 73*(45) across three games.