Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar has backed Shreyas Iyer at number four in India’s playing XI in the upcoming Champions Trophy. Bangar hailed Iyer for consistently performing while batting at number four and grabbing his chance with both hands.
Iyer scored an impressive knock of 59 runs off just 36 balls in the opening ODI against England at Nagpur when the team was chasing 249 runs. The right-hander scored 44 runs off 47 balls in the second game at Cuttack before he was run out.
Iyer had also scored 530 runs in 11 matches at an impressive average of 66.25 in the 2023 ODI World Cup and had played a key role in taking India to the final of the tournament.
“There shouldn’t be a question mark over that as it was extremely praiseworthy the way Iyer batted in the entire World Cup, and because of that, after a long time, a player has consistently got chances at No. 4,” Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports show Match Point.
“He has settled very well and is doing a good job for the team. So I feel he shouldn’t be disturbed for any reason. The more matches he plays, the better he will become,” Bangar observed.
Iyer has scored 2524 runs in 64 ODIs at an average of 47.62 and he has performed consistently in the 50-over version. Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Deep Dasgupta said Iyer has a phenomenal record in ODIs.
“Absolutely, I know we haven’t played a lot of ODIs of late, but his ODI record is phenomenal. There shouldn’t be a question, to be fair. I guess because we don’t play as many ODIs and they are being played after a while, we tend to forget what has happened,” he responded.
The former gloveman added Iyer played two different knocks in the first two games against England and he is a certainty in the playing XI.
“He played different kinds of innings in the two ODIs. In the first ODI, it was a very T20-ish kind of an innings, a counterattacking innings, and this game (second ODI), it was a different one. Obviously yes, for me Shreyas Iyer is in the playing XI for sure,” Dasgupta observed.
The final and third ODI between India and England will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
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