Having been bought by Punjab Kings for a whopping sum of Rs 26.75 crore during the IPL mega auction last year, Shreyas Iyer will be leading the Kings in this edition of the IPL. With the 30-year-old middle-order batsman being one of the mainstays during India’s title-winning Champions Trophy campaign, Iyer will hope to carry his fine form in this year’s IPL. Iyer was excluded from BCCI central contract last year and former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin believes the Mumbai batsman’s T20 form cannot guarantee him a place in the Test setup in the Indian team.
Asked about Iyer having a good IPL and making a comeback to the Indian Test team, Ashwin was of the view that IPL form can’t lead to a Test call-up. “Tell me one thing: how can a good IPL lead to a Test call-up? How can you improve your Test credentials if you have a good IPL? If you do well in ODIs, someone writes an article about having that player in Tests. If someone does well in Tests, people start talking about return in T20Is. Isn’t all this wrong? If you have a good IPL, then only your T20I credentials should improve,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, Ash ki Baat.
Iyer, who captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last year, had a stellar Champions Trophy. The 30-year-old amassed 243 runs at an average of 48.60 in five matches in the Champions Trophy and was the second-highest scorer of the tournament behind New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra. Ashwin showered praise on Iyer for the Champions Trophy show.
“Shreyas Iyer has done well. The form he showed in the Champions Trophy, I won’t be surprised if he carries on in the IPL. He is a fabulous player. He was instrumental in helping KKR win the title last season,” Ashwin said.
On Tuesday, Iyer shared about making the number 3 batting position his own for the Kings in this year’s IPL to make his way into the Indian T20I team. “We already know that IPL is an integral part of Indian cricket. And If I would want to mark myself at some position in T20, it would be number 3. And that’s what I’m focusing on. I wouldn’t say that we are planning and thinking about what number I will be batting. This time I’m quite clear about that position. And I’m going to be focusing on that number. As long as the coach approves of me,” Iyer said.