'Aggressive' Gautam Gambhir puts players under pressure? Shreyas Iyer makes stunning revelation

India batter Shreyas Iyer has spent a lot of time with Gautam Gambhir in the same dressing room. When Iyer played for Delhi Capitals (Daredevils at that time), Gautam Gambhir was the team's captain.

In IPL 2024, Iyer was the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders when Gautam Gambhir joined the team as the mentor. The duo was instrumental in KKR's third title win in IPL history. Now, Iyer has another chance to work with Gambhir, this time in Team India's dressing room.

While Iyer is in India's squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir has just joined as the team's head coach. Iyer will be happy to see someone with whom he has previously worked before as well.

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Shreyas Iyer breaks silence on Gautam Gambhir as India's head coach

Just before the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Shreyas Iyer spoke about the break time when he was out of India's T20I and Test squads. The middle-order batter revealed that he trained in certain aspects in his hometown Mumbai. He wants to play his naturally aggressive game and wants to be in good shape.

"I had time for myself. Went out for holidays and came back. I've been training out in Mumbai despite the rain. My goal in this series is to be free and play my natural game. To be free flowing and to be in the best shape possible. We are playing the A-team and everyone is looking in good shape in training. Its about going out there and play at the best of your abilities," Iyer said.

Shreyas Iyer also opened up about the prospect of working with Gautam Gambhir in India's dressing room. He mentioned that he has worked with Gambhir before and feels confident while being with him. The 29-year-old also revealed that Gambhir gives immense confidence and freedom to his players to express themselves.

"I work with GG bhai a lot. He was the captain at Delhi Daredevils and now here at KKR. He gives a lot of immense confidence and also I can't remember an instance where he puts you under pressure. He gives you freedom that you need as a player in the team. He's got a lot of confidence in terms of what team to play and what strategies to be implemented on a given day," Iyer added.

Shreyas Iyer a key part of India's ODI line-up

Despite being out of India's Test and T20I squads, Shreyas Iyer has been an integral part of India's ODI plans. The middle-order batter performed exceptionally well in the ODI World Cup last year where he scored 530 runs in 11 matches at an average of 66.25 and a strike rate of 113.24. He scored 2 hundreds and 3 fifties in the tournament. Iyer scored a magnificent hundred in the semi-final against New Zealand.

Shreyas Iyer will be a key part of India's plans for the Champions Trophy 2025, to be played next year during February-March.