• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Hes Not Virat Kohli Basit Ali Slams Shreyas Iyer For Disrespecting Red Ball Cricket

'He's Not Virat Kohli,' Basit Ali Slams Shreyas Iyer For Disrespecting Red Ball Cricket

Shreyas Iyer on receiving end after scoring duck in Duleep Trophy (X.com)Shreyas Iyer on receiving end after scoring duck in Duleep Trophy (X.com)

India D captain Shreyas Iyer has been on the receiving end following a failure in the Duleep Trophy, and former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali went all out to claim that he lacks the hunger and concentration to succeed in red ball format.

Shreyas Iyer has been out of India's Test plans since the England series. After being caught lying about his injury status, Iyer was dropped and later snubbed off BCCI's central contract list. 

The cricketer is trying to make amends, but the 2024 Duleep Trophy isn't going as planned. During the second-round game against India A, Iyer was dismissed off a duck by Khaleel Ahmed and has since received backlash.

Shreyas Iyer Slammed For Lacking Passion

Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali went on to say that Shreyas Iyer isn't serious enough for red-ball cricket. In a YouTube video, he claimed that Iyer is lucky since Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are not participating in the Duleep Trophy as he had no chance of competing with the seniors.

“As a cricketer, it saddens me to see him. If you are getting out in front, your concentration isn't in the game. And especially the red-ball game. He has scored two centuries in the World Cup, he's an IPL-winning captain, he should've scored 100-200 runs here. Iyer is so lucky that Rahane and Pujara aren't playing in the Duleep Trophy,” Basit said.

Ali later added that Shreyas Iyer should keep his feet grounded and not perceive himself as Virat Kohli. He lacks the seriousness and concentration required to succeed in red-ball cricket, and if he were in the BCCI, Iyer wouldn't have found a place in the Duleep Trophy squad because he simply doesn't belong there.

“Iyer doesn't have the hunger for red-ball cricket anymore. He's only hungry for boundaries. You should prioritise it. If he's thinking he is similar to Virat Kohli after hitting two centuries in the World Cup, no, it doesn't happen that way. I'm sorry to Indians who like him, but if I was India's selector, Iyer wouldn't have been in the Duleep Trophy at all. He's not respecting the game," he added.

Notably, Shreyas Iyer was recently ignored for the upcoming two-game Test series against Bangladesh, as KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan were given first preference as middle-order options.

Iyer trolled for wearing sunglasses in the Duleep Trophy

Shreyas Iyer walked out to bat for India D on Day 2 of the second-round Duleep Trophy game with sunglasses on. The brightness of the sun forced him to wear extra gear. 

But a four-ball duck led to incessant trolling on social media. Fans slammed Shreyas Iyer for being more invested in his appearance than his game. Twitter was flooded with all types of memes and humorous jibes.