Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has showered praise on Shreyas Iyer for consistently delivering the goods while batting at number four in ODIs. Iyer has been named in the Indian squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand.
The Mumbai batter suffered a spleen injury while fielding in the Sydney ODI against Australia and had to miss the series against South Africa. Chopra justified Ruturaj Gaikwad’s exclusion for Iyer, stating that no one has performed as consistently as the latter while batting at number four in ODIs.
Aakash Chopra said in a video on X, “Ruturaj Gaikwad plays out of position and scores a ton but still can’t find a place in the 15-man squad. But why? Because Shreyas Iyer has returned and it makes sense because he is the vice-captain of the Indian team. No one has played better at No.4 than him in the last 2-3 years. It is obvious. But the big question is when Ruturaj Gaikwad was played at No.4, was it not an opportunity to slot Rishabh Pant in that position? Rishabh Pant is not being dropped and he is your backup keeper. With KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the side, Pant will anyway struggle to find a spot. Pant didn’t play in the Champions Trophy and in the previous ODI series either. There was an opportunity in the previous series but you didn’t give him a chance.”
On the other hand, Chopra urged the selectors and team management to give chances to Nitish Kumar Reddy in the absence of Hardik Pandya so that the former gets ready at the top level.
“When they didn’t think of Pant, rumours began spreading that he must be dropped and Ishan Kishan should be drafted in because he is doing well in domestic cricket. Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Ruturaj Gaikwad were given opportunities at the top. But Tilak and Gaikwad have been dropped and Pant is still in the side. The question is do you not want to give your long-term candidate an opportunity? The same goes for Nitish Kumar Reddy. What are we even doing? We want to be future ready in case Hardik Pandya is injured or unavailable and we need his replacement. He is not going to get ready by warming the bench.”
The first ODI between India and New Zealand will be played on 11th January.
