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Follow UsIt’s been almost six months since we last saw Shreyas Iyer in the Indian jersey. And if we are talking about white-ball cricket, he hasn’t donned the Indian-coloured jersey since December 17, 2023. A lot has transpired in his cricketing life in this period, which we will talk about later, but the good thing is that Iyer is now back in the Indian set-up.
The 29-year-old is part of the Indian squad that will play a three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka starting August 2 (Friday). Iyer’s return to international cricket is happening in a format that he has dominated since his debut. 2,383 runs in 54 innings @ 49.64 and a strike rate of 101.27, studded with five tons and 18 fifties - his numbers in ODIs are as good as they come.
Therefore, it didn’t come as a surprise when he was named in the squad for the Sri Lanka series despite not having a central contract. Not having a BCCI contract… that’s right. Let’s look back at what has happened in Iyer’s cricketing life in these last six months and why India still need him in the 50-over format, with the 2025 Champions Trophy only six months away.
The central contract fiasco
In 2023, Iyer was out of action for a few months because of a back injury. The right-handed batter made his return during the Asia Cup and went on to play a key role for India in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they lost to Australia in the grand finale. Iyer had a phenomenal tournament with the bat, slamming 530 runs @ 66.25 and a strike rate of 113.24.
Iyer then travelled with the team to South Africa and also played in the two Tests. Everything was going well for the middle-order batter, but then England came to India for a five-match Test series, and things started going south for Iyer. He didn’t do much in the first two Tests and was dropped for the remaining three games.
Iyer had experienced back spasms before the start of the second Test but was cleared for selection by the team’s medical staff and the National Cricket Academy (NCA). After he was dropped from the Test squad, Iyer was expected to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. However, he told the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) that he was suffering from back spasms and then went on to attend Kolkata Knight Rider’s (KKR) pre-season camp ahead of the Indian Premier League ((IPL) 2024.
Iyer did play the Ranji Trophy semi-final and final but the damage was already done. The people at BCCI, including secretary Jay Shah, weren’t too pleased with players prioritising IPL over domestic cricket and terminated Iyer’s central contract. Iyer needed something to make a statement and bounce back, and IPL 2024 gave him that platform.
Leads KKR to glory
351 runs at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 146.86 — Iyer didn’t produce earth-shattering numbers in IPL 2024 but managed to impress everyone with his versatility with the bat and leadership qualities. Iyer, who is generally a top-order batter in the 20-over format, batted in three different positions (Nos. 4, 5 and 6) last season.
Speaking before the IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Iyer said, “I was definitely struggling after the World Cup in the longer format. When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it. But at the same time the competition is with myself. When the IPL was approaching all I wanted to see was that I've put my best foot forward…”
In eight out of 14 innings, Iyer scored 23 or more runs. Under his captaincy, the Knight Riders went on to lift the IPL trophy after 10 years. Gautam Gambhir, who is now the head coach of the Indian team, was also in the KKR set-up as a mentor. Once Gambhir was given India’s head coach role, it was pretty evident that Iyer would return to the ODI set-up despite not having a contract. On top of that, you can’t really ignore his numbers in the 50-over format.
Iyer’s ODI numbers can’t be ignored
When Iyer was left out of the central contract, much was said and written about him. Question marks were raised over his T20 and Test credentials, but not a single person dared to question his place in the ODI set-up. The Men in Blue haven’t played an ODI this year, so despite the entire contract fiasco, Iyer has actually not missed any ODI cricket.
The upcoming Champions Trophy will be played in February 2025, and India are scheduled to play only six ODIs before the big event. That was one of the main reasons behind Gambhir requesting Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to make themselves available for the three ODIs against Sri Lanka.
Rohit, Shubman Gill, and Kohli will make India’s top three, with Iyer and KL Rahul expected to bat at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Hardik Pandya has been rested for the series, which could allow Rishabh Pant to bat at No.6. Axar Patel is a certainty at No.7. However, not a single one in the aforementioned top-six can bowl, and that could bring in someone like Riyan Parag or Shivam Dube into the XI.
As a result, it’s highly likely that only two of Iyer, Rahul or Pant will make the XI. And when Pandya returns to the ODI set-up just before the Champions Trophy, the equation will remain the same. Therefore, Iyer can’t take his spot lightly despite the kind of numbers he has produced in this format in the past.
Talking about those numbers, we all know how long India struggled to find the right No.4 till Iyer came into the picture and solved that problem. Iyer has scored 1,397 runs in 33 innings at an average of 51.74 and a strike rate of 101.8 while batting at No.4. He also has an average of 57.83 in 12 innings at No.3. And since 2022, Iyer has amassed 1,570 runs in 34 innings @ 54.14, decorated with 10 fifties and four centuries.
Amongst all the No.4 batters from the top-10 ranked sides, only Shai Hope (59.5) has a better average (Min: 500 runs) than Iyer (58.38) in this time frame. Iyer’s strike rate of 103.9 is also the second-best after Aiden Markram’s 106. What makes Iyer special is the way he plays spin. In ODIs since 2022, Iyer has an average of 99.25 and an SR of 103.39 vs spin. His average is the best among batters from the top-10 sides, with at least 300 runs against spin in this period.
The previous team management had tremendous faith in Iyer, and that’s why they stuck with him during the last ODI World Cup despite him not starting the campaign on a great note. Iyer responded with scores of 82, 77, 128* and 105 in four consecutive innings. Even in his last ODI innings against South Africa in Johannesburg, Iyer scored 52.
His record in this format is there for everyone to see, but Iyer still needs to make the most of whatever opportunity he gets against Sri Lanka. Pant’s left-handedness could give him some advantage, while Rahul, who has made that No.5 spot his own, also has an average of 55.8 in 13 innings he has batted at No.4.
“It was definitely a roller coaster ride. I would like to thank myself, to be honest, for believing in my abilities and mindset at that point of time. I keep telling myself competition is against me,” said Iyer after smashing a ton against Australia last year. He was coming back from a back injury, and this knock helped him secure his place in the ODI World Cup squad.
Iyer is once again making a comeback, this time not from an injury, but he will need the same confidence and amount of runs to prove to everyone why he is invincible when it comes to the 50-over format.
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