Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, has faced some tough times lately. Despite having a fantastic run in the ICC Cricket World Cup, he had to deal with back injuries, losing his central contract with Team India, and doubts about his commitment to red-ball cricket.
Abhishek Nayar, the assistant coach of KKR, praised Iyer for his mental strength and positive attitude towards life. During the World Cup, Iyer had some ups and downs but managed to perform exceptionally well towards the end of the tournament, setting records with his batting.
However, his team lost in the final to Australia. Despite his outstanding performance, he faced difficulties during a Test series in South Africa and was dropped from the team after poor performances. He also missed some matches due to back problems.
Despite these setbacks, Iyer joined KKR for the IPL and has been playing consistently, although not at his best form. Unfortunately, he missed out on being selected for the ICC T20 World Cup this year. Nayar, who has known Iyer for a long time, praised his resilience and dedication to the game, despite facing challenges.
However, he’s still playing hard for his IPL team, KKR, even though he didn’t make it to the T20 World Cup squad.
Coach Abhishek Nayar Praises Shreyas Iyer’s Mental Fortitude and Dedication to Overcoming Challenges
His coach, Abhishek Nayar, thinks he’s incredibly strong and dedicated to the game, even when things get tough.
“He is one of the strongest people, mentally, I have ever known, just in terms of how he has accepted certain things that have happened with him. I would have seen a lot of people cribbing and talking about it, but I have not heard him whine about it or complain about it at all.”
“The way he has approached life is in a positive manner – what is in front of you, you try and accept it,” said Nayar as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. “Certain things are not under his control but his fitness is in his control, and he is feeling a lot better now. He is great on the field, he is batting longer hours, and he has trained really hard. Our S&Cs (strength and conditioning) and physios have worked hard with him.”
“Mentally, to have a mindset like that after being rejected or not getting his due, he has taken it very positively. Even when he talks about it, he is not negative, he understands he needs to go back and do well. He looks to score runs, it (his setbacks) has affected him but the way he has handled it, kudos to him because I can imagine a lot of people reacting very differently than he has,” the coach shared.
Nayar mentioned that the connection between mentor Gautam Gambhir and bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine is “personal,” and this is reflected in Narine’s powerful batting performances at the beginning of the innings. He said,
“It is a very personal bond. It is best understood by those two people. It is not necessarily a coaching thing, it can also be a trust thing. Sometimes just having someone in the dugout and having that aura around you can have a positive effect on the player.”
“There can be many other things, like Gauti telling him to go there and play with freedom. Gautam Gambhir is Kolkata’s golden boy, he has come and won us two championships as captain, and Sunil Narine has been part of that journey. There is always going to be a certain memory that Sunny taps into. It is a deeper bond that both of them have and that is reflected in Sunny’s batting. He understands and trusts the guy trusts everything I am gonna do, win or lose, succeed or rail,” he concluded.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
