Former Indian batsmen Aakash Chopra is not happy with Shreyas Iyer‘s batting position in the series so far. Iyer who was India’s answer to their long-term problem at number four in the shorter format was made to bat at number five and six to allow other players to bat higher up the order. Iyer batted at number five in the first two games before batting at number six in the last two.
Shreyas Iyer scored 67 batting at number five in the first game to bail India out of trouble. His knock took India to 124/7 after they lost four wickets in the first 10 overs. In the fourth game, he batted at number six scoring 37 off just 18 balls playing a huge role in India’s end total of 185.
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Talking to ESPN Cricinfo, Aakash Chopra said Iyer should ideally higher up the order at number four. However, he has no choice at the moment as India’s top-order is crowded with plenty of options.
“He does not have any other option. As they say, if you are pushed into the water, you don’t have any other option but to swim as the other option is to drown. So he has to bat at whatever position given to him,” said Chopra on ESPNCricinfo.
Chopra further said that despite scoring the runs at the given positions, Iyer is not India’s long-term solution to bat at numbers five or six. He said that batting at number four is the ideal spot for the right-handed middle-order batsman.
Number Five/Six Not Ideal For Shreyas Iyer: Aakash Chopra
“Whether it is ideal, definitely not because in the first match he had scored 67 when India made 124. So the player who made more than half the runs, you didn’t send him up the order but further down. He was batting at No.5 there, now he is batting at No.6. No.6 is not the right spot for him, he has batted well, you need to pat his back but he is not a long-term option at the position you are making him bat,” he added.
Suryakumar Yadav was promoted to number three in the previous game and scored a brilliant 57. Indian skipper Virat Kohli batted at number four in the previous game. India tried Rishabh pant at number four and it has worked quite well so far. With India still figuring out their best playing XI for the World T20, it will be interesting to see what number Iyer bats in the decider on Saturday.
