Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said Shreyas Iyer is the best chaser after Virat Kohli. He, however, urged Iyer to take a
bit of time and get his eye before going for the big strokes as well. While India are 3-1 up in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, Shreyas has been disappointing with the bat now. In four innings, he has only managed to score 76 runs at an average of 19 and a strike rate of 126.67 as well.

During a discussion on Cricinfo, Pathan said: “I really believe that, after Virat Kohli, if there’s anyone who is a really good chaser, it’s him. We have seen that in the past. For that, he needs to get in. Once he gets in, I really think he can get the strike rate up to 180 and 200. Shreyas is a kind of player who can afford to take his time. I understand that as a leader, he needs to do what the others are doing as well. If the leader stays behind, that will put pressure on Shreyas Iyer. But Shreyas needs to understand his game. His game is to take a bit of time at the start. He is a kind of player who can hit sixes against the spinners at will. You know, he can stand and deliver.”

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While talking about Shreyas Iyer’s dismissals in the last two T20Is, Pathan added that the Indian captain has tried to hit the ball too hard.

“In the third T20I, against Santner as well, you know how he got out. The ball was really slow and he went really hard. In the last game in Auckland as well, he went away from the stump and he went hard again. He needs to just look after his timing. Once he works on his timing, there is no ground in the world that is big for him,” he concluded.