Shreyas Iyer's short-ball woes: A repeat of Suresh Raina's story?

India’s cherished number four batter, Shreyas Iyer, has not been at his best in this World Cup. Despite India winning six consecutive matches, Iyer’s lackluster performance and his struggle with facing short-ball deliveries have troubled the batter.

Iyer was dismissed for 4 (16) in the match against England. Attempting a pull-shot on a short-length delivery from Chris Woakes, he couldn't execute it well, resulting in Mark Wood catching the ball at mid-on. This marked the third time in this World Cup that Shreyas Iyer was dismissed on a short-pitch ball.

Except for his half-century against Pakistan, Iyer's exploits in the last six matches haven't been impressive, with scores of 4, 33, 19, 53, 25, and 0 in the last 6 innings.

Following his dismissal for 4 against England, numerous fans on X (formerly Twitter) expressed displeasure over the management's decision to persist with Iyer despite his mediocre performance.

I can't defend you anymore. Sadly Shreyas Iyer don't deserve to be in playing 11 now drop him from playing 11 now.#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/n9KyQWnXlQ

— Yash Godara🇮🇳 (@iamyashgodara7) October 29, 2023

Is Shreyas Iyer on a similar trajectory as Suresh Raina?

• Shreyas Iyer has recently been struggling with short-pitched balls.
• His reluctance to effectively handle every short-pitch delivery has cost him thrice in this World Cup.
• He was dismissed by Australia's Josh Hazlewood on a short ball and then by Trent Boult in Dharamsala with a similar delivery.
• Iyer's dilemma with short balls resembles the struggles of former cricketer Suresh Raina, who faced issues with short balls for a prolonged period.
• Raina's weakness was exploited by opposing teams, leading to difficulties for him in overseas matches.
• Despite working with former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, Raina couldn't completely overcome this short-ball syndrome, contributing to his inability to prolong his stay in the Indian team, especially in matches on fast tracks like those in England, South Africa, and Australia.
• Similarly, Shreyas Iyer is currently facing the same problem, as pacers have identified his struggle with short-pitch balls.
• However, at 33 years old, Iyer still has at least two years to address his flaws and work on overcoming his shortcomings without compromising his game.

  

Will Rohit Sharma drop Shreyas Iyer?

• Rohit Sharma has consistently supported Shreyas Iyer in the number four position, addressing a significant issue for the Indian skipper in finding a suitable batter for that spot.

• Last year, speaking to Indian Express, Rohit Sharma had said, "We have Shreyas Iyer. It’s just that due to his injury, and a couple of players we tried didn’t grab the opportunities, the ‘hawaa’ once again returned, but since I knew Shreyas would be back, I had no sleepless nights over it. He has been perfect for us."

• Shreyas Iyer meets the requirements the Indian team seeks in a batter at the number four position, exhibiting an attacking approach initially, followed by settling down and building his innings.

• Iyer performs well on Indian tracks that don't offer much assistance to pacers, showcasing the potential to score significant runs on these wickets.

• Therefore, Shreyas Iyer is expected to feature in the next few matches as well.