Shreyas Iyer has defended his record playing the short ball in ODI cricket, saying he has “no problem” against the delivery.
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The India No.4 made his highest score of the 2023 World Cup against Sri Lanka, notching 82 off 56 balls to drive his side past 350. The knock helped ease pressure on his place, with Suryakumar Yadav impressing in the absence of the injured Hardik Pandya, and suggestions made that it could be Iyer who makes way when the all-rounder returns.
Much of the criticism of Iyer has focussed on his playing of the bouncer, with a perception that he is a poor player of short, fast bowling. He was asked about this in the press conference following his innings, and hit back with an impassioned defence of his playing style.
“When you say it’s a problem for me, what do you mean?” he said after being told by a journalist that the “short ball has been a problem for you since the beginning of this World Cup”.
The journalist clarified that it was “Not a problem exactly, but it’s troubled you,” but Iyer was still unhappy, suggestion that the idea of this being a weakness was a media creation.
“Troubled me?” he said. “Have you seen how many pull shots I’ve scored, especially that have gone for four? If you’re trying to hit a ball, you’re bound to get out anyway, irrespective of if it’s a short ball, if it’s overpitched. If I get bowled two or three times, you all would say, ‘he can’t play an inswinging ball, he can’t play a cut if the ball is seaming’.
“We as players, we are bound to get out on any sort of deliveries. You guys have created that mahaul [atmosphere] outside that ‘he can’t play a short ball’, and I feel that people are picking that up every now and then and it plays on your [the media’s] mind regularly, and you keep working on that.”
Iyer also pointed out that his home ground has helped him develop his game against the short ball.
“Coming from Mumbai, especially from Wankhede where the bounce is pretty much even, here it bounces way more than any other pitches,” he said. “I’ve played the majority of my games here, so I know how to tackle it. It’s just that when I go to hit some shots you are bound to get out and sometimes it may work, sometimes it may not, and majority of the times it hasn’t worked for me, maybe that’s the reason you think it’s a problem for me, but in my mind I know there’s no problem.”
