Shreyas Iyer’s return to ODI cricket after six months was nothing short of spectacular, as he played a fearless knock in the first ODI against England. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Iyer’s approach, emphasizing the crucial role domestic cricket plays in shaping senior players.
Iyer walked in at a tense moment with India struggling at 19/2 while chasing 249. Instead of succumbing to pressure, the Mumbai batter counterattacked, smashing a quickfire 59 off just 36 balls, decorated with nine boundaries and two sixes. Along with Shubman Gill (87) and Axar Patel (52), Iyer helped India cruise to victory with four wickets in hand and 68 balls to spare.
Manjrekar, who dissected Iyer’s game said that it is domestic cricket, which he credited to getting into form. “The way he batted today—his technique, his ball-striking—it looked very compact and fluent, like a well-oiled machine. If domestic cricket has played a role in this, then it strengthens the argument that senior players should participate more in domestic tournaments. Shreyas Iyer’s innings today is proof of that,” Sanjay Manjrekar was quoted saying in ESPNcricinfo.
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Iyer’s domestic stint, however, didn’t get off to a roaring start. The batsman went through a woeful phase in the Duleep Trophy as he managed just 154 runs in six innings. The right-hander, however, soon bounced back in the Ranji Trophy with 480 runs from seven innings, including two centuries.
His Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was as good, where he scored 345 runs in eight innings with a strike rate of 188.52 and helped Mumbai to win their second title in three seasons. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he also carried his fine form, scoring 325 runs in five innings with two more centuries.
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Despite his excellent show in Nagpur, Iyer revealed that he wouldn’t have made it to the playing XI had Virat Kohli not been sidelined due to a neck injury. Kohli is expected to return for the second ODI on February 9, posing a selection dilemma for the team management. With Iyer’s explosive form, dropping him might not be an easy decision.
