Just do a simple Google Search with the words – “Shreyas Iyer, short ball” – and you will get a whopping 469,000 results. Iyer’s problem against the short ball has always been a major topic for discussion, illustrated by thousands of analyses and memes on his short-ball weakness. A little more than a year ago, an advertisement, where Iyer is seen nailing a picture-perfect pull, became viral. Unfortunately for Iyer, until and unless he unleashes some confident strokes against the short ball, opposition teams will continue to target him with that tactic.
At 48 for 2, in India’s opening fixture of Asia Cup 2023, he tried to make a statement while facing Haris Rauf’s short ball. Iyer was also returning from a serious back injury. So the timing was ideal for him to assert his authority at the crease. Iyer instinctively eyed the pull shot. He had just enough room to free his arms and nail the stroke.
With a back and across movement and a slight press, he had geared up for the shot too. Although Iyer didn’t get it off the sweet spot of the willow, he seemed to have got just enough wood on the pull. Unfortunately, he found the fielder at midwicket to perfection, who grabbed a sharp catch. For a few minutes, a stunned Iyer stood motionless at the crease. Perhaps he was wondering what might have been. And then he slowly trudged back to the pavilion. As he neared the pavilion, he seemed to be making a small note to himself through his action – practicing the pull.
Iyer has played in a certain way for a long period of time, and it would be difficult for him to overhaul his game. The middle-order bat has a back foot trigger, where a significant portion of the weight is on the left foot. So, his first movement is for the lighter foot – the right foot – to move back. As Iyer tends to stay slightly leg-side of the ball, the ramp has been his go-to shot versus the short ball. Just that the upper-cut or ramp doesn’t seem to sow the seeds of doubt in a fast bowler’s mind on whether he should attempt another short ball.
Iyer would know it and he seems to be working hard on decoding the necessary attributes to play the pull. To sift some evidence about Iyer aiming to rectify the ancillary part of his game, you can search for videos from the Bangladesh tour last year, where he was seen practicing the pull. Even in the recently concluded NCA camp in Bengaluru, he was looking to improve on his short-ball execution.
Just over a couple of years ago, Iyer had also employed the pull while going up against Mark Wood in a T20I and an ODI in Ahmedabad and Pune, respectively. At the fag end of 2022, he had brought out the stroke in Bangladesh. During that tour of Bangladesh, Iyer had also shared his views on his perceived weakness.
“That (the short ball issue) is just what the commentators talk about,” he noted in a presser. “And off-the-field guys kept saying it was an issue. It had gone into my head at one point. But if you see, if I can leave or keep it down, I definitely don’t have a problem. Runs wouldn’t come (against short balls); that was the situation.
“Obviously bowlers started to target when I came to bat. When the ball was seaming well, they were bowling short balls. I told myself its’ good, I can get runs now. Practice keeps happening and execution also.”
The short ball tactic has wrecked the careers of many batters. Moreover, in modern times, with more emphasis on scoring quick runs, a powerful pull stroke is perhaps a must in the weaponry of a batter. Away from the cameras and limelight, in his own training workshops, Iyer would believe that he has the persistence to add the stroke to his quiver.