Shreyas Iyer says he wasn’t supposed to play 1st ODI, was watching movie at night when he found out
When Virat Kohli pulled out of the first ODI against England due to a sore knee in the morning of the game, it was thought Yashasvi Jaiswal was the one who replaced him. But Shreyas Iyer revealed at the end of the game that he wouldn’t have played the game had Kohli been fit.
The surprise move reveals India’s mood ahead of the Champions Trophy and in particular the head coach Gautam Gambhir’s preference to have left-right combination in the batting line-up.
“As you all know I wasn’t supposed to play today. Virat unfortunately got injured and then I got the opportunity. I kept myself prepared. I knew that at any point of time I can get a chance to play. The same thing happened with me last year as well during the Asia Cup. I got injured and someone else came in and scored a century,” Iyer said.
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The talking point before this ODI series didn’t revolve around Iyer as he was expected to be part of the middle order with his adventurous stroke play. India don’t play Rishabh Pant in the ODIs, preferring KL Rahul with the wicketkeeping gloves, and that leaves Hardik Pandya as the main attacking batsman lower down the order. Here is where Iyer’s aggressive batting was supposed to help the Indian with another aggressive counter-attacking option.
But Thursday’s revelation revealed India are now thinking of changing tack. If Jaiswal is a regular and Shubman Gill takes the No.3 position, it will have Virat Kohli at No.4. The left-handed Axar is likely to bat next with Rahul or Pandya next, depending on the state of the game.
After Iyer’s dazzling fifty that switched the pressure back on England, it remains to be seen now what combination India will play in the second ODI.
Iyer revealed that he was watching a movie last night and thought he could extend his night but then he got a call.Story continues below this ad
“I got a call from the skipper (Rohit Sharma) saying that you may play because Virat has got a swollen knee. I went back to my room and went off to sleep straight away,” Iyer laughed.
At this, the commentator Parthiv Patel said, “We didn’t know that actually! We thought that Yashasvi Jaiswal played because Virat got injured. We were sure that you were going to find a place in the XI.”
Iyer replied: “What do you want me to say? I am just going to keep it lowkey and cherish the moment and the victory.”
