If he continues to relish pressure the way he did, Shreyas Iyer could be a "regular feature in the middle order" for India, said skipper Virat Kohli himself after winning the three-match ODI series against West Indies.
Batting at No.5, Iyer stuck two fine half-centuries and had partnerships of substance with Virat in India's twin victories at Port of Spain that enabled a 2-0 scoreline in favour of the visitors.
"Both times he was batting with me. I have been around for a while and he was not intimidated at all, he was very confident, very sure of his game. At no stage he looked like getting out, that is great to see," said Virat on Wednesday (August 14) after his magnificent 114* and Iyer's solid 65 allowed India to win the last game at Port of Spain by six wickets via the DLS method.
"He has suddenly presented a role for himself, coming in and playing according to the situation. Hopefully, he builds on to this and keeps performing like this for the team ... he can be a strong contender and a regular feature in the middle order."
Virat further heaped praise on Iyer, saying: "We were under a bit of pressure but his (Iyer's) knock was game-changer (in the third ODI). I think Shreyas, the way he played took all the pressure off me and I could just play with my usual tempo and control the game from one end. He understood the value of performing in these situations. It will only boost his confidence further."
"I was exactly the same when I came in -- any opportunity I got I wanted to win games for my team and play according to the situation and you have to take risks."
"He (Iyer) was brave under pressure. You need to reveal your game to realise who you are, what your game is and what kind of a player you are."
Virat scored two consecutive masterful tons in Trinidad and earned the "Player-of-the-Series" award. He said his experience helped him overcome difficult situations in both the games.
"I have been around for a while. Experience counts in pressure situations, understanding where the game is heading and what I need to do in terms of the tempo. So, you obviously want to take a lot of pride in stepping up for the team as much as you can and I definitely take a lot of pride in that."
"Shikhar and Rohit have been brilliant performers for us, one of them usually gets a big score, but if they don't then it's my responsibility in the top three to get a big score. That's how we played and why we have been successful - 75% win percentage in last three-four years. We have a good template to follow as a team."
In the third ODI, West Indies openers Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis smashed the ball to all park and allowed their team to reach 114 off the first 10 overs before India praiseworthily bounced back and restricted the home team to 240/7 in allotted 35 overs after rain came.
"It was actually good that we got game time and we got those wickets otherwise we would be chasing close to 280 in whatever overs we had bowled. So, that would have been a humongous task on a pitch that was slowing down," Virat said.
"When Chris and Lewis play like that you know why they are rated as two of the most dangerous players in the world, especially in white-ball cricket. We tried literally everything and bowled every ball possible, but they were just absolutely brutal, that was tremendous batting from both of them," he concluded.
(Inputs from PTI)
