Shreyas Iyer needs to recreate form

India’s Shreyas Iyer bats against England on Day Two of the first Test in Hyderabad on Friday. Pic/Getty Images

When the teams line up for the toss here on Friday morning, it won't merely be Shubman Gill who will be looking over his shoulder. Shreyas Iyer is fast approaching that point when, unless meaningful runs flow off his bat, he could find his place in the Test XI under threat.

Not without justification is Iyer regarded as one of India's better players of the turning ball. Having played loads of domestic cricket - he didn't break into the Test side until November 2021 - and therefore honed his craft on different pitches against a variety of spinners, Iyer's softness of hands and deftness of feet have been wonderful allies. In recent times, though, he has hit a trough.

Crisis man

Either side of back surgery last year, Iyer has forsaken the fluency that marked the early stages of his Test career. The right-hander quickly established himself as a crisis man, making a century on debut against New Zealand in Kanpur, and following it up with a string of consistent performances studded by 87 and a vital unbeaten 29 in a tense run-chase against Bangladesh in Chattogram 13 months back.

Since then, in ten Test knocks, he has a highest of 35 and five single-digit scores in a tally of 131 runs at 14.56. His travails have run from Delhi to Indore and Ahmedabad, Centurion and Cape Town and culminated in Hyderabad where, in the first Test against England, he threw away his hand after a positive 35 in the first innings and fell for 13 in the second.

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Iyer is a much better player than his recent numbers indicate. Around these Test dips, he has made bucketful of One-Day International runs, including successive centuries in the World Cup. In Tests, however, he hasn't been able to strike the balance between attack and defence.

Ability to counter spin

In Hyderabad, he had the England bowling at his mercy in the first innings, batting with the assurance and confidence that comes with the attributes he possesses in abundance to tackle the turning ball. He might insist the stroke he played against leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, a biff to deep mid-wicket, was on; it probably was, too, but when one hits it right down the throat of the fielder positioned there precisely for that stroke, it doesn't look particularly edifying.

One of several batsmen to not capitalise on starts in the first innings when head coach Rahul Dravid said India were 70 light despite amassing 436, Iyer failed to make amends in the second knock, edge-driving Jack Leach's left-arm spin to slip. By then, India were already on an unchecked downward spiral, but isolated pockets of hope lingered. With his fall, it was all over bar the shouting.

In Visakhapatnam, Iyer will seek to recreate the form of his first seven Tests which brought him one hundred and five 50-plus scores. He will need to, as much for himself as for his team.