Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has praised Shreyas Iyer for scoring a match-winning century in the first T20I against the West Indies. He also added that the Indian captain put to rest all questions being raised about his
batting form as well. India bowled out the West Indies for 171 in Lucknow on Tuesday, October 6. Shreyas Iyer then smashed an unbeaten 102 off 43 balls as India achieved the target with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Sarpanch sahab, the way he played, this knock was different. This was brutal. This was domination. Questions were being raised. When we did the preview yesterday, many viewers asked in the comments section whether Shreyas Iyer is my friend, as I don’t talk about him not scoring runs, lacking consistency, and having a low strike rate.”
“I am thinking maybe there is merit, but I feel Shreyas Iyer is fairly decent, and there shouldn’t be any conversation on his name. He has just validated that. He has put one thing to rest – that one shouldn’t panic too much or overreact. If someone has done well earlier, he deserves slight respect and a slightly longer rope, and Shreyas just proved that right,” he further added.
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However, Aakash Chopra also applauded Shreyas Iyer for getting into excellent positions while playing his shots as well.
“The most beautiful thing I felt was his body positioning. When you have to hit over cover, you have to take the back foot slightly back and play on the off side, and then you open your body when you try to access the leg side. I thought he was absolutely stellar,” he said.
“It was high-quality batting. He was hitting sixes at will, and hit sixes in different places. He hit over cover, down the ground, and over midwicket. Then he also played the delicate shots. He showed boldness, touch, and fearlessness. It was a full bouquet of shots, temperament, and technique,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
