Shreyas Iyer was brilliant in the IPL. Not just as leader, but also as a batter. He played some extraordinary innings for the Punjab Kings and was key to his team making the final. Going purely by performance, he is one of the names that should be there in the Asia Cup team list.
It is not just IPL performance that goes in Iyer’s favour. In the Champions Trophy, played in Dubai just ahead of the IPL, Shreyas was superb. He is arguably one of the better players of spin in India at the moment, and with conditions expected to be spin-friendly in Dubai for the Asia Cup, he merits selection.
This is the one aspect I’d like to emphasise – his prowess against spin. Dubai is expected to help spinners and the current lot of Indian batters have struggled against the turning ball. The home series against New Zealand was a case in point. Shreyas, it is known, is fantastic against spin. He reads the ball from the hand and has the ability to counterattack in difficult conditions. In the Champions Trophy, he did so to perfection and played a stellar hand for India.
I am conscious of the fact that India have an abundance of riches in white-ball cricket. And that’s where things get complicated. Recently, I had written on Shubman Gill. A gun player, and there are absolutely no issues with his inclusion per se. But then, at whose expense? Why displace Sanju Samson who has performed as an opener? The very same could be said of Shreyas.
Where would he bat? Will he come one down or will he bat at 5 with Surya, the skipper, at No. 4? If Shreyas is to bat 3, what happens to either Gill or Samson? And if Shreyas has to bat 5, what happens to Tilak Varma? Either way, India don’t have the option of playing Gill, Shreyas and Tilak in the same team, assuming that Samson and Abhishek Sharma play along with Surya.
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The other thing with players like Gill or Shreyas is that you don’t generally leave them on the bench if you pick them. While Gill is India’s red-ball skipper and could well be the all-format captain in the future, Shreyas is senior enough and has enough pedigree to make the first team if chosen.
Is it then a straight shoot-off between Shreyas, Gill and Tilak? Could all three make the team when only two, at best, can play? What could be India’s playing XI when the team steps out on September 10?
For Shreyas, it will be an opportunity to reintegrate himself in the shortest format. The way he reinvented himself for Punjab Kings was evidence of how good he is, and it could just be a matter of time before he does the same for India. Also, Shreyas is used to high-pressure situations. If anything, the match against Pakistan will be decided by who soaks up pressure better. India are a better team and will start favourites. But with all the geopolitical tension around, there will be more to the game than just cricket. Shreyas, with his attitude, could well be India’s go-to man.
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