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Star India batter Shreyas Iyer has battled scrutiny throughout his career, with questions raised over his consistency and ability to play the short ball.
Shreyas Iyer looks on after playing a shot (Picture credit: AP)
India cricketer Shreyas Iyer has said that his confident blows to Jofra Archer’s short-pitched deliveries in the ODIs against England were not meant to send a ‘message’ to anyone and he just believes in himself to play his best cricket possible.
Iyer has been in fine form, in ODIs, cementing the No. 4 spot in the Indian batting lineup and proving his worth over some time.
Iyer’s much-improved play against the short-pitched delivery has made the headlines on multiple occasions recently.
“In terms of the confidence, yes. But you look at my domestic season, I played so many this year and hit sixes off difficult deliveries. I gained a lot of confidence from that. Technically, I was able to get a wide stance and create a great base, which enabled me to generate that force,” Iyer said while speaking to The Hindustan Times.
“I don’t have to send any message to anyone. All I have to do is believe in myself and play the best cricket possible. The message automatically gets delivered,” Iyer added.
Iyer will next be seen in action when he leads the Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL 2025. They will begin their campaign against the Gujarat Titans on March 25 in Ahmedabad.
Like the majority of the Champions Trophy, Iyer was tasked with steering India’s run-scoring in the middle overs during the 2025 Champions Trophy final against New Zealand on March 9.
Iyer had to deal with the spinners bowling in tandem straightaway and forged a crucial stand with Axar Patel for the fourth wicket. Many expected him to hold one end and take India home, but that was not to be.
“It was my intention (to bat on). If you remember we were going ball to ball and if I could have got a boundary off that ball (against Mitchell Santner), it would have been different,” Iyer said.
The star India batter has built himself into one of India’s most consistent number four batters in recent times and was declared a “silent hero” by his skipper Rohit Sharma after the team’s Champions Trophy win some days ago.