Shreyas Iyer doesn't have the hunger for red-ball cricket anymore: Basit Ali
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali feels that India batter Shreyas Iyer doesn’t have the hunger to succeed in red-ball cricket anymore. Notably, the star batter was dismissed for a seven ball duck in the second round of the Duleep Trophy 2024 batting for India D.
In a rare occasion on the cricket field, Iyer walked out to bat wearing sunglasses but failed to trouble the scorers and got dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed after chipping the ball straight to Aaqib Khan at mid on. Following his dismissal, Basit Ali questioned Iyer’s concentration and mentioned that he should’ve used the opportunity to score 100-200 runs.
“As a cricketer, it saddens me to see him. If you are getting out in front, your concentration isn’t in the game. And especially the red-ball game. He has scored two centuries in the World Cup, he’s an IPL-winning captain, he should’ve scored 100-200 runs here. Iyer is so lucky that Rahane and Pujara aren’t playing in Duleep Trophy,” said Basit on his YouTube channel.
Further speaking ahead, the former batter said that he doesn’t have the hunger for the longer format and even questioned his inclusion in the Duleep Trophy.
“Iyer doesn’t have the hunger for red-ball cricket anymore. He’s only hungry for boundaries. You should prioritise it. If he’s thinking he is similar to Virat Kohli after hitting two centuries in World Cup, no, it doesn’t happen that way. I’m sorry to Indians who like him, but if I was India’s selector, Iyer wouldn’t have been in the Duleep Trophy at all. He’s not respecting the game,” he added.
Iyer’s downfall in Test cricket
Iyer finds himself out of the Indian Test team after a prolonged run of low scores. The Mumbai-born batter hasn’t scored a half century in his last 13 innings in the longest format which eventually led to him being dropped from the team after the second Test against England earlier this year.
The rise of Sarafaraz Khan and Shubman Gill securing his place at number three hasn’t helped Iyer’s cause either. He registered a half century in the first round of the Duleep Trophy scoring 54 but failed to continue his form and got dismissed for a duck in the very next innings. However, he did manage to take one wicket at end of Day 2 against India A.
With a complete domestic season in front of him, Iyer will be eager to quickly find his form back and make a strong case for his selection in the Test squad.
