Former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar hailed Shreyas Iyer for playing a crucial knock in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand at Dubai on Sunday but at the same time, he was not happy with the way he got out.
Iyer holed out to Rachin Ravindra at long-on on the bowling of Mitchell Santner after scoring 48 runs off 62 balls. The right-hander scored 243 runs in the eight-team tournament at an average of 48.60 and a strike rate of almost 80.
Iyer was India’s highest run-getter in the tournament and he was the second highest overall after Rachin Ravindra.
Vengsarkar said Iyer should have batted till the end as he was settled at the crease.
The former Indian batter said via Indian Express, “Iyer did very well but I am not happy the way he got out in the final. He should have continued till the very end and finished the game. But happy to see him realize his potential.”
Vengsarkar also lauded KL Rahul for playing crucial knocks in the semifinal and final against Australia (42 off 34) and New Zealand (34 off 33) respectively.
“KL too played a few important innings at number six but still not convinced Axar Patel batting ahead of him at five. The left-hand right-hand combination could be the only reason,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel surprised one and all when they picked five spinners for the Champions Trophy and Vengsarkar gave credit to the selectors for backing the spin quintet.
“Credit needs to go to the selectors as well. They stuck with Rohit after the Australia series. Even the decision to take five spinners in the squad proved to be a masterstroke.”
Indian players will be seen in action in the upcoming IPL.
