When Shreyas Iyer Called 'Playing Dot Balls' A Crime; Quote Goes Viral After Sluggish 34 Vs CSK
Shreyas Iyer in action against CSK in IPL 2024 (x.com)
Attacking Indian batter Shreyas Iyer holds a staggering T20 strike-rate of 130.59. Moreover, the same strike-rate rises to 136.12 across his 51 T20 international appearances.
Back in early 2022, the cricketer once signified the importance of holding an attacking mindset with the bat, especially for the game’s most truncated format.
Unfortunately for Shreyas Iyer, his old quote regarding T20 strike-rate went viral after he scored a sluggish 34 against CSK at Chennai two years later during IPL 2024.
Shreyas Iyer’s ‘dot ball a crime’ quote goes viral
During an interview with The Times of India back in early 2022, Shreyas Iyer signified the importance of aggressive batting in T20 cricket. The dashing middle-order batter even claimed that playing a dot ball is a “crime” in T20 matches, as it puts unnecessary pressure on the rest of teammates.
He said: “For every ball, you need to think about scoring. As a batsman, I feel if you play a dot ball, it’s a crime. It takes a toll on the batsman.”
As it turned out, Shreyas Iyer’s old quote involving T20 strike-rates resurfaced two years later on April 8, when he scored a sluggish 34 against CSK while captaining the KKR franchise.
Batting at number four and arriving to the crease at 56-2 right after the opening powerplay, Iyer consumed 32 balls to score his runs. The dynamic middle-order batter also struggled to clear the fence, fetching just three boundaries during his hour-long stay at the crease.
Shreyas Iyer’s inactive knock ended up costing KKR as they managed to score just 137 by the completion of their 20 overs. In response, CSK overhauled their target with more than two overs to spare.