Indian batter Hanuma Vihari said the pressure will be on Shreyas Iyer amid the T20I series against Zimbabwe. India recently suffered a 0-2 series loss against Ireland. The Men in Blue suffered a 0-4 T20I series loss against England.
Thus, India suffered six losses on the trot on the UK tour and they are yet to register a single win under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy. Iyer was given the captaincy baton after the T20 World Cup as he took over the charge from Suryakumar Yadav.
Vihari admitted that Shreyas Iyer has batted well as a leader, but he needs to get into winning ways as a captain.
“Shreyas Iyer has batted well, no doubt. Captaincy, it is a start for him, but losing six matches in a row is a rare thing for an Indian captain, usually, there is pressure only after two-three losses, so definitely he will be under pressure,” Vihari said on his YouTube Channel.
On the other hand, Tilak Varma recently faced criticism for his below-par strike in the T20I series against Ireland and England.
The left-hander did struggle to get going against the spinners and had a strike rate of 110.45 against Ireland after scoring 74 runs in two games. Varma scored 104 runs in five matches against England at an average of 26 and a strike rate of 152.94. Vihari said Tilak has been given role clarity by the team’s think tank.
“He said if we lose many wickets and I also go and hit, it will look reckless, which is a fair point. Tilak is not batting at three anymore. He is batting at five or six and has been given the finishing role. It was not right to say that he should go and bat like in the powerplay. He is taking time, building his innings, and at least trying to take the team to a respectable total. Yes, he is getting out in that effort now and then, no doubt, but that clarity of role is there. He even scored a 10-ball 30, but the same people will criticise if he gets out soon,” Hanuma Vihari explained.
Zimbabwe have posted 125 runs on the board in the first T20I.
