Star India national cricket team’s middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer has finally spoken about taking a six-month break from red-ball cricket at a time when the return of the Test team seemed close.
Shreyas Iyer also discussed his new upright batting stance, which he is using in the ongoing ODI series against the Australia national cricket team on spicy and bouncy pitches.
My intensity starts decreasing – Shreyas Iyer
Last month, the 30-year-old had requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India for a short break from red-ball cricket, and he was granted permission by the BCCI.
The Mumbai and Punjab Kings star was included in India’s plans in red-ball cricket when he decided to take a break. Shreyas Iyer was appointed captain of India A for the four-day matches against Australia A, and after playing the first match of the series, he decided to withdraw from the second match.
Iyer was expected to play for Rest of India in the Irani Cup and for India in the home series against the West Indies. But the break request meant he ruled himself out of a comeback in the India Tests, and BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia said they would give Iyer time to build stamina in his body and work on fitness.
Talking about his red-ball cricket absence in a press conference after India vs Australia 2nd ODI, Iyer said that he was unable to maintain the required intensity in red-ball cricket, which prompted him to step away from the format for some time. He said:
“When I played red-ball cricket after the IPL, I realized that if I field for a long time on the field, my intensity starts to go down. And the intensity that you need to maintain in international cricket, I am not able to match. In ODIs, you know you will get rest after a day and you will be able to recover. Not in Tests. That’s why I made that call, and gave that message.”
Since last year, I wanted to take a straight stand – Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer’s trouble with short balls is well known and to counter this threat he adopted a more direct approach, which he has used in the past. Talking about this, Iyer elaborated:
“Since last year, I wanted to take an honest stance [for conditions] Where the surge is slightly higher than expected. And based on that, I worked with my coach and we developed this new technique, and it was a great fit for me. And the way I grew up playing, it was pretty much that my stance was predominantly straight, and I was just like, ‘Let’s go back to my old technique and see how it goes, you know, [holds] Above.’
“So, yes, I supported myself and then, from there, I started [trying the technique] in domestic [games]…Till now I am sticking to the same stand.”
And yes, you have to keep chopping and changing from time to time – Shreyas Iyer
Iyer further stressed on changing the approach as per the circumstances and said that this has helped him adapt well to different types of situations. He said:
“Even in Mumbai, when we play on red clay wickets – where the bounce is a little more than expected – I think that helps with the straight approach,” Iyer said.
“And yes, you have to make changes from time to time because you don’t play on the same wickets.” [all the time]Whatever the demands of the wicket, you have to change your stance accordingly and I think I have changed many stances. [that] I’m able to adapt to anywhere at this point.”
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