Shreyas Iyer, the city’s latest entrant in the Test team, is backed by Mumbai teammates and SPG academy coach Amre to cash in on his India opportunity
India batsman Shreyas Iyer. Pic/AFP
Shreyas Iyer’s Mumbai teammates welcomed the middle order batsman’s inclusion in the India Test team and were confident that he would make his debut in the forthcoming two-Test series against New Zealand.
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Mumbai, the hub of Test cricketers, has produced the maximum number of international players. If given a chance, Iyer will be 72nd cricketer from the city to play for the country in the longer format, the last being Shardul Thakur, who made his Test debut against West Indies at Hyderabad in 2018.
Debut likely at Kanpur
Considering Iyer’s technique and temperament, he has bright chances of playing his maiden Test in Kanpur on November 25 under the captaincy of fellow Mumbaikar Ajinkya Rahane.
Pravin Amre, Dhawal Kulkarni and Aditya Tare
Rahane will lead the team since Virat Kohli has been rested along with Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Kohli is expected to return for the December 3-7 Mumbai Test. Rahane led India to the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series win in Australia when Kohli was on paternity leave.
Mumbai wicketkeeper-batsman Aditya Tare believed that Iyer will get his chance to adorn the Test cap. “I am so happy to see Shreyas in the India Test squad. He is suited to all three formats and deserves this opportunity. He has become a much better red-ball player now as he has international experience under his belt,” Tare told mid-day on Friday.
Iyer, 26, has scored 813 in 22 ODIs while 550 runs have come off his blade in 29 T20Is. The right-hander has 4,592 runs to his name from 54 first-class games. “Shreyas was outstanding whenever he has batted at No. 3 for Mumbai. He scored more than 1,000 runs [1,321] and also a century in the final [117 v Saurashtra in Pune] when we won the Ranji Trophy in 2015-16.
“Now, he is ready and excited to play Test cricket. I hope he will get a chance in the playing XI and will represent the Test team for the next five years. He has the perfect temperament and will be a good investment for Indian cricket,” said Tare, who led Mumbai to their 41st Ranji Trophy title in 2015-16.
Former India Test batsman Pravin Amre, 53, who groomed Iyer at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana (SPG) academy during his early days, wants his ward to score a century on Test debut just like he did against South Africa at Durban in 1992-93. “As a coach I want Shreyas to get that experience of scoring a hundred. I am confident he will capitalise on the Test opportunity too. He is an aggressive cricketer, who plays equally well against spinners and pace bowlers. He enjoys tackling challenges and has been confident right from his early days. The most important thing is that he has the ability to play under pressure. Test cricket is nothing but pressure and Shreyas is ready to absorb it,” said Amre .
‘Passionate cricketer’
Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, who handed the Mumbai cap to Iyer before his debut Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir at Wankhede Stadium in December 2014, felt Iyer is thoroughly deserving of a Test call-up. “He scored a lot of runs for Mumbai. He has worked very hard and is a very passionate cricketer. I am delighted that my Mumbai teammate is in the Test team and will hopefully make his debut against New Zealand,” said Kulkarni.
India’s Test squad
Ajinkya Rahane (C), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vc), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KS Bharat (wkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
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