Is The Time Running Out For Shreyas Iyer?

image-lmvjgy50Shreyas Iyer was run out for 3 in Mohali ODI [AP]

Having gone one-nil up in the final dance before the big ODI World Cup with another two games to follow, India are in the driver's seat to seal the current one day series against Australia.

Mohali was such a brilliant place to be at on September 22, 2023- wasn't it? Gill was on song. Gaikwad didn't take a lot of time to make his intentions clear in the one day series's series opener. 

However, what stood out as a startling reminder despite India's much credible victory was that all's not well in the side. It was that the comeback man for Team India, Shreyas Iyer, didn't really have a great outing with the bat.

Sad. Shocked. In pure disbelief; Iyer's fans were all this and more and a thing could be said about them. They've probably seen better days before.

Could the lad returning to Indian national colours ever be happy with the 3-run-outing with the bat?

Is the thought of that run out still haunting the mind of one of the most amazing stroke-makers in the Indian side; a youngster who likes to accept challenges with glee?

Who would, after all, like to get out not long after arriving into the middle? In the Mohali contest, Iyer made just 3. He lasted for no more than eight odd minutes in the middle.

But then, quite a few things have changed and rather interestingly so for the Indian cricket side in the time Iyer, the bedrock of the middle order, was out recovering from his injury.

For starters, Ishan Kishan, the man who has already scored a double ton in ODI cricket, grew in reputation; adding more colours to his see-the-ball-hit-the-ball-aggressive dynamic.

image-lmvjr0knIshan Kishan has been impressive with the bat [AP]

He surprised the Windies in Windies land, first in Tests and then rampaged them in the one dayers.

In the year where ODI cricket is what they all want and are going ga-ga about, with the World Cup just a few weeks away, Ishan Kishan's one day records are not really shabby in a world where a lack of logic doesn't have much say.

It's taken the quiet affable left-hander just 14 matches (12 innings, to be precise) to score 378 runs for India in ODIs this year.

But that's not all; with a batting average of around 38 and a strike rate that's strikingly good at almost 90, it will be slightly blasphemous to move Ishan Kishan anywhere up and down the order or at worst, out of a playing eleven in the fast approaching World Cup venues.

Here's a batsman, who by sheer weight of numbers, made himself count; Kishan was the player-of-the-series in the 3-match West Indies series scoring 184 runs. His 77 at Tarouba was a key catalyst of a 200-run win. That inning came off just 64 deliveries.

And more recently, one saw the 82 at Pallakele against India's archrivals Pakistan. In all this time, Iyer, a sure-shot future captain material, has been noting that the changing vagaries of the sport do little to upset his rhythm.

On the other hand, there's a certain Suryakumar Yadav.

To take nothing away from the attacking and fearless Ishan Kishan, who already has a double hundred in ODI's to his name, Suryakumar Yadav in at five or possibly six has enhanced the reputation of a batting order we don't always care about besides Kohli or Rohit- do we?

image-lmvjsy0wSKY hammered a glorious fifty in Mohali ODI [AP]

While from a statistical point of view, India's SKY will have to reach for the skies to be a worthy and top notch presence in the world cup squad, his stats from 2023 are anything that would appeal to Iyer, not a newcomer.

And yet, it appears for his ability to pick up quick runs and often dealing in boundaries and sixes, Surya's in when many, like Samson aren't. 

Anyways.

Prior to entering the Mohali ODI, Sky had just managed 153 runs from 11 games in 2023; this included a batting average of 15 while a personal best of 35.

And that's that.

While Kishan's been agile and athletic behind the wickets, Sky managed to ride a bumpy road ahead. Both are hot properties for the World Cup squad and both bring a sense of virtue that can't be put down or ignored. To be particular, Sky, blessed with awe inspiring batting and that fascinating streak of exploring a 360-arc of hitting the white ball, India will never grow tired of the right hander.

The sort of guy who fills crowds in any stadium around the world!

But that told, Shreyas Iyer brings a certain degree of experience and calmness to the musings of the bat belonging to the other two.

However, his is actually a conundrum of sorts; in three of the most recent ODI games with the bat, Iyer seemed to be getting along just fine before he failed to get going.

He managed just 14 runs from 2 games in the Asia Cup, prior to which, Shreyas Iyer scored 94 from the three ODI contests against Sri Lanka.

And before that- in the December 2022 series against Bangladesh, Iyer managed 109 runs from three games averaging 36.

However, today's Indian cricket isn't merely a system that can be conveniently mocked for its sense of experimentation, one evident under the Wall Mr. Rahul Dravid.

Unlike how it functioned back then, today one arrives at several hits and misses and permutations and combinations only on the basis of data, the new oil. Analytics can be applied wherever they can be, a process that's a must. 

Everything sticks. Everything is documented. The stats don't lie and that's the truth.

The last time that one of the most well-liked cricketers from the team scored a century was nearly a quarter of year back; in which Iyer aced the JSCA International cricket ground against the Proteas in scoring an unbeaten 113.

With his soft hands, gracious timing and nimble footwork, Shreyas Iyer has been as good as they come on the 22 yards. He needs that sort of inning to announce his comeback in grand fashion, don't you think?

However, for now, the subject of a half baked Iyer, for that's what he seemed at Mohali given his struggle with the bat, will be debated.

After all, this is someone who even and rather dramatically erred with catches against the Aussies.

Has this injury really affected him? Is the post injury Iyer desperate to break out?

Could Iyer's place therefore be subjected to intense discussion in the next few games, including the warm-up World Cup qualifiers?

It is no surprise that Sky and Kishan can score heaps of runs and at present, are seeming in some sort of touch to say the very least.

Suryakumar Yadav, who already scored a fifty vs Australia, who ensured he got out for a first-ball duck and on three games on the trot (earlier on), looks good to go. 

But if Sky, who arrived relatively later to cricket akin to an avid technocrat to a life changing meeting having been preoccupied with AI and cutting edge gadgets, be offered support (debut 2021), why can't the same be done for Iyer?

image-lmvjuofyShreyas Iyer is a proven performer in ODIs [X.com]

After all, the right hander is a man with 1,645 runs with 44 games and not to mention, a debut that happened four years earlier than when Sky first middled the white ball?

Regardless of who's picked over whom- in the big World Cup clashes such as the ones against England, Pakistan and South Africa, Rohit's team will have to find the balance because necessarily speaking, Kohli and his captain can't get the job done alone. Not always. 

How can then one rely always on a Gill to get things going with a bang, the familiar fashion in which the stylish lad plays?

That is where the middle order becomes crucial and the key man in it, its driving force.

Quite frankly, India's current scenario, a classic case of the problem of plenty, will require someone with Iyer's already established credentials and temperament to go big, to get better.

Iyer's batting, it ought to be noted, is flamboyant. To quote an example, in 2021, in a T20I against England, whilst navigating a difficult situation with his team at 48 for 4, Iyer repaired a vital inning. 

He was single handedly responsible for scoring 67 off just 8 overs on his own. 

For someone who very narrowly missed out on catching the berth in the last edition of the One Day World Cup 2019, the 2023 tournament is a brand new opportunity.

However, it is one that'll require Shreyas Iyer to really up his game and bounce back stronger.

Else, there's never a doubt about that even the best in this business can be replaced.