A few days after leading the Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title, Shreyas Iyer declared on his YouTube channel that he had the bat in his hand and it was up to him “to perform and win trophies”.
Iyer, 29, will be keen to forget the upheavals he went through in the last few months since a new season always ushers in fresh hope and passion.
Following a stellar ODI World Cup, the promising batter was keen to cement his place in the middle-order once Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were unavailable against England, the last home Test series. But a nagging back injury forced him out after the first two Tests.
While the National Cricket Academy insisted there were no fitness issues, Iyer complained of back spasms. His decision to sit out a few Ranji games didn’t go down well with the BCCI leading to his omission from the central contracts for the 2024-25 season.
He conceded that due to “lack of communication”, some decisions didn’t go in his favour. But Gautam Gambhir replacing Rahul Dravid as head coach, with whom Iyer worked closely at KKR, has opened an opportunity in all formats.
Iyer recently made a return to the ODI squad in Sri Lanka though he hardly made an impact as India lost the series 0-2. His appointment as captain in one of the Duleep Trophy squads is an indication that he remains in the selectors’ scheme of things.
The tournament marks the official start of the domestic season in the first week of September and Iyer will be keen to make amends this time. Having made himself available to play in one of the matches of the Buchi Babu invitational meet in Tamil Nadu, a warm-up tournament, he has already made his intentions clear.
But the competition is going to get tougher. The return of Kohli, Rahul and Pant will mean that only one spot is likely to be up for grabs. The likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar will not let Iyer rest on his laurels. Even Suryakumar Yadav is eyeing a comeback to red-ball cricket.
India play 10 Test matches till early 2025, starting against Bangladesh next month, and Iyer will need tons of runs to get into the Australia-bound squad. That he remains susceptible to the short-pitched stuff is well known and how he makes amends will probably define his career.
One positive aspect for Iyer is that he will get to work with Abhishek Nayar in the India camp. Having worked with him at KKR and Mumbai, Nayar knows him inside out and that will work in his favour.
The competition for the places will only intensify and the Duleep Trophy will provide Iyer with some valuable game time ahead of the more arduous international tests. Iyer needs to get into the groove quickly and can’t miss out on the opportunities.
