Shreyas Iyer has been named in India squad for the first 2 Tests against England.
England has not won a Test series in India since 2012 when they pocketed the series 2-1.
However, under the captaincy of Ben Stokes and the guidance of coach Brendon McCullum, England has adopted a strategy of aggressive batting from the start. This is to put pressure on opposition bowlers and teams from the get-go.
This has proved amazingly effective for England, as they won the Test series in Pakistan 3-0 and gave Australia a good fight at home in Ashes 2023. However, it remains to be seen how well the Bazball works against the Indian spinners on spin-friendly pitches.
Shreyas Iyer was not named in the Afghanistan T20Is and instead was asked to play Ranji Trophy for Mumbai. He played recently against Andhra and scored some good runs.
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In an interview, Shreyas Iyer said that he is not bothered about the Bazball and that India must stick to their plans and not think too much about their opponents.
“To be honest, I don’t really think about what the opposition is going to do and what kind of mindset they are going to come with. It’s important we stick to our own plans and focus on our own abilities rather than concentrate much on our opponents. So, these are the small qualities we have to keep in mind and look forward to put our best foot forward and see to it that we seize the moment,” he told JioCinema.
He also spoke on the challenges of playing a five-Test series.
“You have to take one match at a time and not think much ahead. You have to consider all the factors. In terms of your mental ability, the stress is going to be a lot but at the same time, you have to handle the pressure situations well. So, these are the pros and cons of playing Test matches. You have to be mentally inclined towards adapting across 90 overs and as I mentioned, this was the right practice for me coming into the Ranji Trophy and getting used to the situation,” Iyer added.
Shreyas is well known for his amazing game against spinners and is considered one of the best in the current generation against slower bowlers.
“I grew up playing cricket in Shivaji Park Gymkhana (Mumbai). The wickets there were predominantly spin-friendly, so I had to adapt and get used to them and be versatile in terms of my approach. Also, I played a lot of tennis-ball cricket in my society which was under-arm and you had to spin the ball. The culmination of all these factors led me to playingplayery well,” Iyer added.