Former Australia captain Ian Chappell gave his take on Team India dropping Shreyas Iyer from the last three Test matches against England. Iyer, who had an underwhelming show in the first two Tests, failed to make the cut in the remaining matches.
Before the squad announcement, several media reports suggested that Iyer had discomfort in his back and groin but the BCCI didn’t state any fitness concern regarding him while announcing the squad for the last three Tests.
Chappell said that the return of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja a big boost but the absence of Virat Kohli is a big blow for the Indian team.
“India is a strong side and they also have a good leader in Rohit Sharma. They will be greatly strengthened by Ravindra Jadeja’s and KL Rahul’s recovery from injury, but that Virat Kohli will not return for the rest of the series is a blow,” Chappell wrote In his column for ESPN Cricinfo.
Meanwhile, Chappell suggested the selectors should now stop relying on and overestimating Shreyas Iyer’s abilities with the bat after dropping him from the squad.
“Hopefully, the selectors will now stop overestimating Shreyas Iyer’s batting ability and learn to value Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket-taking capability more,” he added.
Talking about England’s cricket team, Chappell asserted that if skipper Ben Stokes switches back as an all-rounder it will be a big boost for the team.
“It will help England enormously if Stokes is once again able to function as an allrounder, as his bowling is a distinct weapon. It would also help if he fielded in the slips, especially to the spinners, as he is one of the best in that position,” wrote Chappell.
He also advised Stokes, the batter, to take the charge at the start of the innings.
“One personal area Stokes could look at is his own batting. If he were more proactive at the start of each innings, it would improve his play. Stokes is a very good batter but he’s at his best when he’s looking to score,” added Chappell.
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