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Gautam Gambhir Breaks Silence; Reveals Why Shreyas Iyer Was Almost Benched for 1st ODI

Poulomi Chakraborty

Gambhir Reveals Why Iyer Was Almost Benched In The First ODI (Source: Gambhir Reveals Why Iyer Was Almost Benched In The First ODI (Source: 

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Before stepping into the upcoming Champions Trophy, Team India got a huge boost after defeating England in the ODI series by a dominating 3-0 margin. In this ODI series, Shreyas Iyer made a remarkable return to the side with his remarkable form.

But the batter revealed that he was supposed to miss the first ODI but ended up being in the playing xi due to Virat Kohli’s sudden injury. After wrapping up the series, Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir shed light on the possible reason behind the batter’s exclusion from the first ODI.

Gambhir’s Revelation On Iyer’s Place

After a long wait, Shreyas Iyer made a strong comeback in the recently concluded ODI series against England, reclaiming his No. 4 spot with authority. Since the first game, the ace middle-order batter was in an exceptional form. He ended the series with 181 runs with two exceptional half-centuries and batted with an average of 60.33. However, in a surprising twist, Iyer was initially set to be benched for the opening match. Gambhir has now revealed the reason behind this unexpected decision.

“On Shreyas Iyer, he wasn't supposed to be benched throughout the series. We wanted to give Yashasvi a go in the first game and see what he could bring to the table because he was in really good form in Australia. So we wanted to see what kind of innings he can play.” Gambhir said.

“I know that one inning; you can't judge someone by one inning. But we always knew that Shreyas was going to be an important player for us; what he's done at number four because number four beat the World Cup, or forget about even the World Cup, he's just an important player,” he added.

Gambhir On The Rotation Policy Before The Champions Trophy

After wrapping up the ODI series with dominance, Team India is now eyeing the upcoming bigger stage as the Champions Trophy is just a week away. As this was the last series before the marquee event, rotation policy was a concern for the Indian team management. Before that, Gautam Gambhir explained the team's rotation strategy, ensuring that each player gets a chance to play.

“So sometimes, when you've only got three games, you want to try and rotate your squad as well. See, for today, we could have easily played Shami, but we wanted to give Arshdeep a go. We could have played Jadeja as well; we gave Washington a go as well.” Gambhir said.

“So when you've got the Champions Trophy around the corner, you want to try and maximize these three games and try and give everyone an opportunity. But Shreyas was always in the scheme of things, and it's good that he played all three games. It's still early days; I think guys have shown some really good signs; Harshit has come along really well; Ash was really good today as well; he got his first opportunity.” Gambhir added.

As the Champions Trophy is just one week away, the dominating series win against England has given a huge boost to Team India’s confidence. In February 20, they will begin their campaign against Bangladesh in the opening match. Fans are eagerly anticipating thrilling cricket action once again!