He’s aware he might not start – Dinesh Karthik on Shreyas Iyer’s place for 2022 T20 World Cup

India’s veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik reckons Shreyas Iyer is aware that it would be difficult for him to break into the team’s final XI in the 2022 T20 World Cup.

India would want an extra all-rounder, who could be the sixth bowling option and Iyer might find it difficult to break into the team.

The right-hander has been given the responsibility to bat at number three in the absence of Virat Kohli in the series against Sri Lanka. Iyer scored a fine knock of 57 runs in the first T20I at Lucknow and then followed it with another match-winning knock of 74 runs in the second game at Dharamshala.

However, Iyer hadn’t received his opportunities in the series against the West Indies. Meanwhile, Karthik reckons the first aim of Iyer will be to make it to the World Cup squad.

Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz, “I think he’s aware at the back of his mind that he might not start at the World Cup. But, see, the first step is to put a seat on that flight and he for sure with these performances guarantees a strong place and a strong contention.”

On the other hand, Zaheer Khan heaped praise on Shreyas Iyer for showing maturity in his stroke play. Iyer has been playing according to the match situation and he has delivered the goods in the limited-overs format.

“He certainly has. There’s no doubt about it. When you have such consistent performances, you can’t really ignore the quality of the player… Number 3 is a very crucial position as well. When you have a chance and you play in this fashion it really adds a lot of value. A lot of maturity has been seen through these innings. It’s about understanding what’s the situation of the game, how are you going to approach it. All those things Shreyas ticked nicely. And today I like the approach in terms of countering the bowling. It wasn’t about approaching every innings in the same fashion…”

Zaheer hailed Iyer for finishing the game against Sri Lanka in the second T20I and feels it will add a lot of confidence to his bag.

“When you have finished the game, stayed there till the end, and not just crossed a milestone and say ‘I’ve had a great day out there and I can take more chances.’ Finishing the game really really counts and he was able to do that. Full marks to him for having that kind of approach… These things will matter for him going forward and will give him that added cushion for Australia.”

Iyer will look to continue the good form and also deliver for KKR in the IPL.