Shreyas Iyer was one of India’s best performers in the ODI World Cup 2023. He scored 530 runs in 11 matches and that was expected to have sealed his spot in the ODI team, if not in all three formats but the Indian team management had a different idea. The Rohit Sharma-led side played only three ODIs in 2024 and in the first two matches, Iyer featured in the playing XI but was dropped from the third as the returning Rishabh Pant was given the opportunity.
The 30-year-old however returned to the playing XI in the first ODI against England in Nagpur. When the hosts were reduced to 19/2 in the second innings, the Mumbai-born played a sublime knock of 59 runs off 36 deliveries and helped India get back into the contest. He stitched an important 94-run partnership with Shubman Gill, which played a massive role in the team clinching a four-wicket win.
However, after the win, Iyer noted that he wasn’t originally supposed to feature in the playing XI as a last-minute injury to Virat Kohli opened the doors for him. It led to a series of controversies on social media and former cricketer Ricky Ponting joined as well. He noted Iyer’s contribution in the ODI World Cup 2023 and highlighted that the player had a terrific domestic season, where he scored two centuries for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“I’ve been a little bit surprised that he’s been out of India’s side in the last couple of years.
He had a terrific World Cup back in India (2023) where he played beautifully in the middle-order and I actually felt then that he’d almost cemented that spot and made that his own,” opined Ponting on ICC Review.
“Then he had those couple of injuries, obviously injured his back and went out of the side, but his domestic season this year has been brilliant. It sort of coincided with what he’s done since around (IPL) auction time going forward in domestic cricket, he has been pretty much outstanding,” he added.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear if Iyer will feature in the playing XI when Kohli returns from injury. Nevertheless, Ponting believes that the middle order batter will excel if given a chance in the upcoming Champions Trophy, slated to begin on February 19.
