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England's Old Nemesis Backs Shreyas Iyer To Shine Against Ben Stokes & Co

image-lrpugn97Shreyas Iyer struggled in South Africa [X.com]

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar pinned his hopes on Shreyas Iyer to ace the challenge of taking on England in the marquee five-match Test series, starting Thursday in Hyderabad. 

For Gavaskar, it's a great opportunity for the middle-order batter to overcome his struggles during the tour of South Africa and reinforce his class and pedigree against a formidable opposition such as England. 

Speaking to Star Sports, the maestro felt Iyer could make up for a quiet series in South Africa and emphasize his importance to the Indian Test team after scores of just 31, 6, 0 and 4* in Centurion and Cape Town. 


Gavaskar Backs Jaiswal, Iyer 

Notably, Gavaskar's remarks came before the BCCI confirmed Virat Kohli's decision to opt out of the first two Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam owing to "personal reasons". While Team India will obviously miss the great batter, his absence means greater pressure on the middle-order to perform. 

From Iyer's perspective, though, it's a great opportunity to show he can be India's hero even if the legend at No.4 is missing alongside Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. 

The 29-year-old might have missed the opening Test if the team management had decided to rope in specialist wicketkeeper KS Bharat at No.6 after Rahul's century in South Africa made him undroppable. But Kohli's sudden withdrawal has given him a lease of life. 

"In the World Cup, Shreyas Iyer batted brilliantly in Indian pitches, so I’m hoping he’ll play similarly at No.5 in the Test series. He batted aggressively, was quite watchful at the start and then his stroke-making after reading the pitch was a delight to watch. I hope he’ll replicate that," Gavaskar said.

Kohli's absence has still certainly piled on the pressure for the Rohit Sharma-led side as they try and retain a proud home record, having not lost a series in their backyard since November 2012 and losing only three Tests in their den in the last 12 years.