“He wasn’t able to live up to the expectations” – Aakash Chopra slams Shreyas Iyer following disastrous outing Down Under


“He wasn’t able to live up to the expectations” – Aakash Chopra slams Shreyas Iyer following disastrous outing Down Under

Aakash Chopra and Shreyas Iyer

Aakash Chopra and Shreyas Iyer
Aakash Chopra and Shreyas Iyer

India have earned the much-needed confidence going into the Test series against Australia having clinched the T20I series. Although the visitors succumbed to a 12 run loss in the final T20I but sealed the series 2-1. The fact that youngsters stepped up to overturn India’s fortunes having lost the ODI series makes the win a special one for the Men in Blue.

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But amidst all the hustle and bustle, young wicketkeeper Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer have fallen behind in the race to grab the opportunities. Let it be Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja or T Natarajan, all of them have seized opportunities with open hands. But Samson staggered as he finished the T20I series with only 48 runs under his belt. On the other hand, Iyer has only 71 runs to his name in the five games he played across formats.

He came into this series with a reputation

Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra is disappointed with Iyer’s performance in the white ball series. Chopra pointed out that he was not able to stand up to the expectations. Iyer came off a brilliant Indian Premier League season. He led the Delhi Capitals to their maiden final scoring 519 runs in 16 games. But the Mumbai lad fell well short against the Aussies.

Chopra went on to slam him for not converting the starts he got in the series. Iyer registered scores of 2, 38 and 19 in the ODI series. And went to score 12 and a duck in the T20 series. If not for the likes of Pandya and Jadeja, India’s middle-order would be in crumbles. Especially with the youngsters failing to seize the numerous opportunities they are served by the team management.

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It’s important that around Kohli, there are players who can score quickly. Sanju Samson will look behind this series and as will Shreyas Iyer, because at the end of the day, Iyer had been given opportunities – be it ODIs or T20Is. He came into this series with a reputation but he wasn’t able to live up to the expectations. I think he will be very disappointed,” Chopra said on Cricbuzz.

He is the captain of the Delhi Capitals and had performed well also earlier but the series was stop-start for him. Also, whenever he got the start, he couldn’t convert it into a big innings. First, he got out to a bouncer and then when he was playing well, he couldn’t play the long innings. When that happens, the questions will be asked,” Chopra further said.

Iyer’s form is a big worry for India as they gear up for the T20 World Cup next year in their backyard. A lack of sixth bowling option might very well tempt the think tank to drop the youngsters, Samson and Iyer, from the side altogether.

Also read : Suresh Raina confirms return for IPL 2021, set to feature in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

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