Former Indian skipper and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly reckons in-form Shreyas Iyer should have been picked for the England tour by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel. The PBKS captain scored 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07 in the recently concluded season of IPL and led the franchise with aplomb.
Iyer scored 480 runs in five Ranji Trophy 2024-25 matches at an impressive average of 68.57, but chief selector Ajit Agarkar said the Mumbai batter needs to perform more at the domestic level.
Speaking to RevSportz, Ganguly said, “He has been playing at his best in the last one year, and should have been in this team. Last one year has been fantastic for him. He isn’t the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket’s different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do.”
On the other hand, India’s newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill doesn’t have a great record while playing in tough English conditions. Gill has scored only 88 runs in three Test matches in England at an average of 14.67. Ganguly said England conditions are not suited to hit through the line and backed Gill to fight it out while playing away from home.
“I am sure he can work on his Test match batting. He is a top-order batsman. He is the key senior member, captain, so as I said, he’s also got to fight in these conditions. These are not conditions where you just hit through the line. It’s going to seam, swing, new ball will be different. There can be time when India is 10 for 2, and he has to come and play the new ball, so the application will be different. So, these conditions will test them and make them too,” said Ganguly.
“He needs to score a bit more runs in these conditions when it’s seaming and swinging. It is going to be a bit difficult upfront with the new ball. Batting at 100 for 2 and 20 for 4 are two different things, so he has to get the defence right, learn how to leave deliveries outside the off stump. You’ve got to fight here, where first hour, post lunch, post tea would be different. So, you can’t be 50-4 in the first two hours. You’ve got to be 50-1, then you are in a position to win the Test match.”
The opening Test match between India and England will be played at Leeds, Headingley, from June 20 onwards.
