Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth said captain Shreyas Iyer’s confidence as captain will be high after his brilliant century in the first T20I against the West Indies. Iyer walked in to bat as India were in trouble at 35/2 in their chase of 172. However, Iyer smashed his maiden T20I century off 42 deliveries. He eventually finished on 102 off 43 balls, helping India win by eight wickets in the 15th over.

Talking about Iyer’s century, Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka, “This knock will give tremendous confidence to Iyer as a batter and captain. This happened to Gill. Once he started scoring in Tests and ODIs, he was able to stamp his authority on the field. The same thing will happen to Shreyas Iyer in T20Is going forward. India will start doing very well under him from now.”

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“His century is not just important for him but also for Team India in the big picture. Because as a captain, he hadn’t stamped his authority yet. He hadn’t scored anything big in the last 10 innings. Shreyas’ off-side shots and range are incredible and effortless. He had so much time because he was playing the ball late,” he further added.

Kris Srikkanth applauded Ishan Kishan for playing his role in the partnership with Shreyas Iyer despite not being at his best. He also finished unbeaten on 37 from 27 balls, adding a match-winning 137-run partnership with his captain.

“It was a crucial partnership as India lost two quick wickets. India would have been in trouble if they lost two more wickets. Both of them played the ball late. Ishan Kishan supported Iyer very well by giving him more strike. Kishan played a docile knock and didn’t play his usual knock. It wasn’t a flamboyant knock,” concluded Kris Srikkanth.