In my mind, I never thought I struggled against short balls: Shreyas Iyer

Indian batter Shreyas Iyer feels he never really struggled against the short balls. Iyer was dismissed on short balls in the rescheduled Test match against England back in June 2022. The right-hander was dismissed for 19 by James Anderson by a peach of delivery whereas Matthew Potts had his number with a short-pitch deliver after he scored only 15 runs.

Since then, teams have targeted Iyer with short-pitched stuff but he has been bold enough to take the attack on the bowling. Iyer was India’s best batter in the ODI format in 2022 and did a fine job for the team.

The Mumbai batter accumulated 724 runs in 17 ODI matches at an impressive average of 55.69 and a strike rate of 91.52. Shreyas Iyer revealed he doesn’t give much importance to the outside noise and tries to keep things simple.

“Talking about the first innings at Edgbaston, it was a terrific delivery (off James Anderson) and it seamed after pitching and swung in the air. Any player would have gotten out to that one. In the second innings (off Matthew Potts), I tried to play the pull and was caught. In my mind, I never thought I struggled. About the noise that has been created outside, I like to turn a deaf ear to it and keep things simple. I love the line that ignorance is bliss. That’s what I do,” Iyer told the Times of India.

On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer shared his disappointment after missing the flight to Australia for the T20 World Cup. Iyer played 17 T20I matches in 2022 in which he scored 463 runs at an average of 35.61 and a strike rate of 141.15 but he was ignored by the selectors for the T20I showpiece.

Despite the World Cup snub, Iyer worked on himself and helped Mumbai in lifting the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Shreyas Iyer told the Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview: “It was disappointing. It is something that you dream as a kid, to represent your country on the biggest stage. Winning it for the team is also something which gives you the chills.

“But it was not that I was completely demotivated. I didn’t let that get into my mind. I was just doing my things right. I focused on myself. I took a break, went and played domestic cricket. It gave me more time to elevate my skills.”

Shreyas Iyer will be in action in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.