Team India’s approach in the ongoing Cricket World Cup has been clinical so far. The Men in Blue have won their six matches comprehensively and they are now one victory away from securing a spot in the semi-final.

While the Rohit Sharma-led side has ticked all boxes, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer’s struggle against short ball remains a cause of concern for the hosts.

Batting at No. 4, Iyer has registered scores of 0, 25, 53, 19, 33 and 4 in six innings. He has been targetted with short-pitched deliveries by most of the teams. Iyer fell to the short ball against New Zealand in Dharamsala last week and lost his wicket while attempting a pull shot versus England in Lucknow a couple of days back.

Ahead of India’s next match against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on November 2, Shreyas Iyer has been working on his weakness against the short-pitched deliveries.

According to a PTI report, Shreyas faced plenty of short balls from throwdown specialists during an optional training session on Tuesday (October 31).

Iyer started out by facing some local net bowlers before innumerable short balls were hurled at him by India's throwdown specialists D Raghavendra, the left-handed Sri Lankan Nuwan Seneviratne and batting coach Vikram Rathour.

The right-hander batted on both ends of the practice pitch while sporting a chest guard. Towards the end of the training session, head coach Rahul Dravid also gave him throwdowns, which included a few deliveries to drive.

After the match against England, former India opener Gautam Gambhir pointed out that Shreyas Iyer has become a compulsive puller and advised him to take on the short ball wisely.

"See, practicing in the nets doesn't mean he becomes compulsive. Somewhere I am seeing, he is becoming compulsive. He is actually waiting only for the short ball, rather than looking to go forward and then try and pull it. And pull it at a height that you can control. Today also you see, he wanted to pull everything, which you can't against quality international bowlers," Gambhir said on Star Sports.

"You should be able to pull the balls that you can only control. I think he is hanging back too much because he is thinking everyone is going to bowl short and I am going to take them on. There is no ego in batting, you can't be good at everything. Yes, you're working on something but make sure it's in your area, at a height which you can control. He can keep working on it but he needs to be more smart. He should know what height to play the pull shot," he added.

(With PTI Inputs)