Team India batsman Shreyas Iyer remembers his favorite shot from 2023 ODI World Cupbefore Men in Blue returned to the format. The middle-order player has been named in the ODI squad that will face England in a three-match series, before competing in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Iyer picked his half-century against Sri Lanka in the league stage at the Wankhede Stadium as his favorite knock of the entire tournament. The right-handed batsman posted a strike rate of 146.63, smashing six sixes to help India post a dominant total of 357-8 on the board.
In response, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 55 runs, giving India a 302-run win as they continued their winning streak during the campaign.
Ayer He revealed that the strike was crucial as there was pressure on him to maintain his place in the starting lineup.
“82 against Sri Lanka. Because there was a lot of talk about me being left out of the team, and that I wasn't doing much for the team. Even though I scored 50 against Pakistan, there was some talk that it put me in a difficult position.” Iyer said during the brainstorming (via The Indian Express).
Ayr have endured a poor first half world cup, Starting with a three-ball duck against Australia. He made a strong comeback to score fifty and two hundreds in the last four matches of the league stage. The batter finished with 530 runs at an average of 66.25.
Iyer also added that criticism from abroad can be “annoying” at times.
“It's annoying, especially when it comes from people who have never faced 150 kilometers per hour, advising you to play a certain way. But I would say that's their opinion. They have every right to talk, but they can talk among themselves and not with the player,” Iyer added. “Directly.”
The batsman was constantly peppered with questions regarding his issues against the short ball. He lashed out at a journalist for himself during a press conference, right after the aforementioned knock against Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
“The hardest part was my back injury.” – Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer has had a chronic back problem, causing him to suffer injuries on a regular basis. With this inconsistency affecting his form, and threatening his place in the Indian side in the long term, he opted to undergo surgery on himself.
He underwent surgery in April 2023 after sustaining an injury during the Border-Gavaskar series, which saw him miss the entire match. Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign and the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
“The hardest part was my back injury. When I had surgery, I thought this would completely change my body. It was kind of difficult to get back to the same area and fitness that I had before surgery. A year later Iyer said (according to the source cited above): “Now I feel “I feel very comfortable and feel strong because I can do what I intended to do before the surgery.”
Iyer eventually returned to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and had a fruitful campaign thereafter.
Edited by Nihal
