'God Injured Virat Kohli For Shreyas…' Fans React Over Rohit, Gambhir’s ‘Plan’ Of Excluding Iyer

Shreyas Iyer celebrating his fifty [Source: AP photos, @huserlame/x]

Shreyas Iyer thwarted a raging English attack to orchestrate India’s emphatic four-wicket win in Nagpur. Batting at number four, the cricketer unleashed 59 quick runs from just 36 deliveries and launched nine boundaries and a couple of huge sixes in his regal knock.

Iyer even shared a match-defining 94-run partnership for the third wicket with fellow half-centurion Shubman Gill after Team India had lost both openers by the time of reaching 19 in a chase of 248. Notably, after the match, Iyer revealed that he was not originally in the radar of playing the first ODI against England and only made it to the playing XI after seasoned campaigner Virat Kohli was ruled out due to an injury.

Fans slam team management over plans of excluding Iyer

Following Team India’s win in Nagpur against England, several fans took to X and berated the Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management for planning to exclude Shreyas Iyer from the playing XI.

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Some fans also questioned the BCCI’s decision of depriving Iyer of a central contract last year after the latter chose to skip certain domestic fixtures. Here is a look at some of the Indian fans reacting to Shreyas Iyer’s match-winning knock and the management’s original plans of excluding him from the line-up:

It is worth noting that Shreyas Iyer made it to the Indian playing XI after Virat Kohli was ruled out due to a knee injury prior to the game. Iyer’s presence ended up making the difference for Team India as the elegant middle-order batter clubbed 59 runs from just 36 balls in the run-chase.

Shubman Gill and all-rounder Axar Patel also listed half-centuries in the match as the Indian team went 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series.

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