Almost impossible to drop Shreyas Iyer for Mumbai Test: Aakash Chopra

The former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has heaped praises on Shreyas Iyer for his knocks in the Kanpur Test. He said that India might make a change or two in their setup for the next Test match but the batter is unlikely to be dropped. He also reckoned that with his sheer display of flair, Iyer has cemented his place in the side and would feature in the next Test as well.

Iyer made his Test debut in style by hitting an impressive century in the first innings. He then continued to blow the trumpet of his repertoire by hitting a half-century in India’s second innings. According to Chopra, if Iyer had been dismissed the game would have inclined towards the Kiwis.

“If Shreyas Iyer had been dismissed in that point of time in the second innings, this was game, set, and match in favor of New Zealand.

So, him being there and dominating with regards to how he played against the spinners, now it’s almost impossible to ignore him or drop him for the next Test match, no matter who is coming in. Somebody will go out but that guy won’t be,” Chopra said during the tea-break show on Star Sports on Sunday.

Nobody had seen what Shreyas Iyer was bringing to the table in the longer format: Aakash Chopra

Though Iyer’s century impressed the cricketing fraternity, his half-century that came whilst a crunch situation grabbed more limelight. India had lost early wickets and that is when Iyer stitched in crucial partnerships and scored 65 runs. Thus, Chopra feels that the batter’s knock in the second innings was far more challenging.

“The only Indian (Shreyas Iyer) to score and century and fifty in a Test match on debut. The first innings were brilliant because there were nerves but the pitch was a little better to bat. Nobody had seen what he was bringing to the table in the longer format. But, the second innings, in my opinion, is far more challenging and therefore far more satisfying,” he said.

“These 65 runs he has scored came under enormous pressure because if he had gotten out in the first innings, India would have batted again anyway. Test match, like life, gives you the second opportunity but not when you are batting for the second time.”