India captain Rohit Sharma explains decision to drop Shreyas Iyer for first T20I v WI; says team management keen on having someone who can bowl too
Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer. Pics/Getty Images
Shreyas Iyer might have been the third biggest buy at the IPL auction but to fit into India’s T20 combination, he would need to showcase all-round skills as that’s what the team is looking for in the middle-order slot, skipper Rohit Sharma has said.
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Wednesday was a mixed bag for Shreyas. Around evening, KKR unveiled the worst kept secret in the IPL universe by announcing their R12.25 crore recruit as franchise captain for 2022. By 6:30 pm, however, it was clear that the former Delhi Capitals and new KKR captain isn’t fitting into the specialist batter category in Team India for the T20 game against West Indies.
Difficult situation
“Someone like Shreyas Iyer is sitting out, very hard on him to be out and not making it to the XI, but it’s what the team requires. We need that option in the middle, someone who can bowl,” Rohit said, after India’s easy six-wicket win in the first T20I on Wednesday. “It’s always nice when you have those kind of competitions going on,” he added.
Skipper Rohit gave a glimpse of what kind of team combination he is looking at in the shortest format and he made the hard but prudent call in picking Suryakumar Yadav along with the less fancied Iyer— Venkatesh, who brings in all-round skills to the table.
‘Team comes first’
“We were very clear with Shreyas, we told him the team wants that option [of an all-rounder] going into the World Cup. They are all smart guys, professionals and they understand the team comes first,” the Indian captain said. “A lot of things go into deciding the playing XI, the opposition, the conditions, the dimensions of the ground. Yes, sometimes it can be tough for the guys missing out but we are making sure we are giving out a very clear message. Unfortunate but we want to put the team first,” the skipper displayed no ambiguity in his statements.
It is also understood that Shreyas’ technique against the short ball has been a bit susceptible and a lot of work is going into making him correct his body position to deal with express quicks in future.
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