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Indian batting star Shreyas Iyer took a page from fellow teammate and cricketing great Virat Kohli's batting as he followed the 35-year-old batting stance to tackle short balls ahead of the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Iyer returned to Team India after being dropped from the central contract in early 2024 as he was picked for the 50-over squad.
After being out of BCCI's central contracts, Iyer won the Ranji Trophy with Mumbai and captained the Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title in May. Based on these performances, the 29-year-old was selected for the Sri Lanka series.
Shreyas Iyer follows Virat Kohli's stance to tackle short balls
Hence as he and the Men in Blue started training for the 50-over series in the Island Nation, Iyer seemingly opted for Virat Kohli's stance in the nets to tackle short-bowling. Despite being one of the most talented players in world cricket, Iyer has had his fair share of struggles against short-ball with the opposition bowlers targeting the Indian with short-pitch deliveries.
They have got a lot of cricket left in them: Gambhir on Virat and Rohit
Coming back to Virat Kohli, India's new head coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about the future of the 35-year-old and his compatriot Rohit Sharma after the pair announced retirement from the shortest format after winning the T20 World Cup 2024.
Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Sri Lanka series, Gambhir said, “I think they've shown what they can deliver on the big stage whether it was the T20 World Cup and in the 50 over World Cup as well. I think both those guys have got a lot of cricket left in them and more importantly with the Champions Trophy and a big tour of Australia, obviously they would be motivated enough and then hopefully they can keep their fitness till the 2027 World Cup as well. This is a very personal decision.”
