Legendary Australia cricketer Ian Chappell shared a bitter truth for Shreyas Iyer after the batter was left out from the last three Tests between India and England of the ongoing series.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and batter KL Rahul were included in the India squad for the rest of the three Tests after missing the second match due to their respective injuries. However, their inclusion in the XI depends on clearance from NCA.
Kohli extended his absence from the Indian squad as the former skipper was not available for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. This helped both Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan to retain their spots in the Indian squad.
Talking about India's squad selection in the build-up to the 3rd Test against England, former Australian cricketer Chappell urged the Indian selectors to avoid overestimating Iyer's batting ability.
"India is a strong side and they also have a good leader in Rohit Sharma. They will be greatly strengthened by Ravindra Jadeja's and KL Rahul's recovery from injury, but that Virat Kohli will not return for the rest of the series is a blow. Hopefully, the selectors will now stop overestimating Shreyas Iyer's batting ability and learn to value Kuldeep Yadav's wicket-taking capability more," Chappell wrote In his column for ESPNCricinfo.
Iyer had a horrible outing in the first two Tests against England. He scored 35 off 63 balls and 31-ball 13 in India's 28-run defeat to England. Iyer then scored 27 off 59 balls and 52-ball 29 in the 2nd Test, which Team India won by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam.
“As the home side India should eventually win a tough series, but it has a real battle on their hands. England under the aggressive leadership of Stokes is a far cry from the poorly captained Joe Root team that capitulated against spin on their last tour of the country,” Chappell added.
