Former India opening batter Aakash Chopra has said that Shreyas Iyer’s decision to take a long-term break from red-ball cricket could have bigger ramifications and longer repercussions in the future. The 49-year-old felt that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper could be demoted to a lower category on the contract list if he wasn’t available for all three formats, which may not be a good look for a player of his calibre.
The BCCI press release on Thursday, which had the squads for India A’s white-ball series against Australia A and the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup match also had a statement that said that Iyer had asked the board for a six-month break from red-ball cricket. The right-handed batter had started to experience recurring back spasms and stiffness while playing the longer format, forcing him to make that call.
“It is actually (whether Shreyas Iyer taking a break from red-ball cricket is a significant development), especially for Shreyas Iyer, because there was a lot of noise about Shreyas Iyer’s non-inclusion in the Asia Cup. Everybody felt that he deserved a chance, and he was not a part of this, but he was made captain of India’s multi-day games against Australia A and with an eye on two back-to-back home Test series, he’s already a regular in the ODI format, he’s still not there in the T20 format but there is one format where he scored a century on his debut. He also gave an audition. He went and played Ranji Trophy, making himself available for red-ball cricket”.
“Karun Nair going out of favour, I actually thought that Shreyas Iyer might find a place in the 15 for the West Indies series. But now with his decision, it might just have slightly longer repercussions and might not just be limited to these two matches or the two series. It might have long-term ramifications”, Chopra told ESPNCricinfo.
“Karun Nair is someone who is now unfortunate to miss out because he had a tough tour of England, but seems to be slightly out of favour, but Shreyas Iyer now falls in that list right at the bottom, or maybe not in the list anymore. Even the central contract, that will have a slightly different look to it as well. If he was a multi-format player, you go up the ladder, if you are not, then your category actually goes slightly B category kind of place, which doesn’t suit Shreyas Iyer the player. He’s too good a player,” he added.
Iyer played the first multi-day format match for India A against Australia A at Lucknow before pulling out of the second fixture, which started on Tuesday.
Varun Aaron surprised by the timing of Shreyas Iyer’s decision to take a break from red-ball cricket
Former India pacer Varun Aaron said that he was surprised by the timing of Shreyas Iyer’s decision to take a break from red-ball cricket. However, he admitted that one had to support the player if he was facing issues with his body and believe what he said.
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“It definitely surprises me (the timing of the decision to take the break), but you have to go with his explanation. If he is saying there is something wrong with his back, and there historically has been an issue that has troubled him, that is his back. He’s always had issues with his back at very crucial junctures. We just have to take what Shreyas Iyer is saying and believe that he has a back issue and he can’t take the multi-day format cricket at the moment”.
Iyer made his Test debut against New Zealand at Kanpur in November 2021. He made 105 off 171 balls in his maiden Test innings. His last Test was against England in Visakhapatnam in February 2024.
The post‘It might have long-term ramifications’: Aakash Chopra weighs in on Shreyas Iyer’s decision to take 6-month break from red-ball cricket | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express
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