The past few months have been stressful for Shreyas Iyer since his inspirational batting in the ODI World Cup at home.
Recurring back spasms meant he was left out of the Test squad, while he also lost out on the BCCI’s annual retainership following his inability or reluctance to play in the Ranji Trophy. To rub it in, he failed to make the T20 World Cup squad.
An IPL title can still bring Shreyas back into the limelight. Following a sedate start this season, he has 345 runs in 13 innings, including four half-centuries. But the scars haven’t healed.
“I was definitely struggling after the World Cup in the longer format. When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it. But, at the same time, the competition was with myself,” Shreyas said on Saturday, the eve of the IPL final.
“When IPL was approaching, all I wanted was to put my best foot forward. Whatever planning and strategising we did before it and executing it to the best of our abilities and that’s where we are right now.
“The transformation from red ball to white ball is difficult. So, it was difficult at the start, but once you get used to it, you pick up the pace and match on with the other players.”
The turnaround began with the Ranji final versus Vidarbha.
“We won the final. I was a part of the team and also contributed... It gives me immense pleasure to be playing so well in the last few months,” he said. “All I did was stay in the present and not think about what was going to happen.”
