Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer discussed his remarkable comeback to international cricket at the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards in Mumbai, where he received recognition for his performance in India’s ICC Champions Trophy victory. After being dropped from BCCI’s Central Contract list last year, Iyer emerged as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer with 243 runs in five innings, averaging 48.60 with two fifties and a top score of 79.The achievement marks India’s second consecutive white-ball title following their ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. During his time away from the national team, Iyer captained Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL victory and led Mumbai to success in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while also securing the Ranji Trophy.
“It was a rollercoaster ride and things looked in shambles and helter skelter earlier. But I told myself to set a routine, discipline myself and play domestic cricket. I went back to my time in Mumbai, played the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I performed in all these tournaments, and they helped me boost my momentum and confidence heading into CT. Then I was lucky to have played in ODIs against England and stamp my authority there,” Iyer said.Iyer’s performance against England was notable, scoring 181 runs in three matches with two fifties at an average exceeding 60 and a strike rate over 123.Speaking about his ODI approach, Iyer explained: “During the CT, I was in a position where I had to play ball to ball in the start and then put myself in pressure and charge against bowlers. We thought in Dubai, 250-300 was a winnable total. My job was to take the team to that total, and then after that, let us see what happens. Looking at the line-up, our bowlers, we had immense confidence that we would be able to defend. We were also confident of chasing.“Addressing criticism about his ability to play short balls, Iyer responded: “Over the last two years, there were talks about me that I could not play a certain shot, and when I came back, I wanted to prove everyone wrong. I worked on myself, wanted to take on the bowlers and it was just I, had to challenge myself to put myself in that pressure situation to take on the bowlers. It is a matter of practice. The more you hit that shot, practice against difficult bowlers, the more confident you get.“His improved technique against short-pitched deliveries was evident when he successfully handled bouncers from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood during his return to ODI cricket.Iyer’s current year statistics show impressive form with 424 runs in eight ODI innings, averaging 53.00 with a strike rate of 93.59, including four fifties and a highest score of 79.He will next feature in a three-match ODI series against Australia starting October 19. His previous record in Australia includes three ODIs with 59 runs at an average of 19.66 and a best score of 38.
