India legend accuses Shreyas Iyer of fooling BCCI with red-ball cricket break

Former India National Cricket Team skipper Dilip Vengsarkar has lashed out at the star batsman Shreyas Iyer for taking a break from red-ball cricket for six months.

Dilip Vengsarkar stated that Shreyas Iyer taking a break from red-ball cricket, giving fitness issues as an excuse, but being fully fit for white-ball cricket is beyond his comprehension.

BCCI allows Shreyas Iyer to step away from red-ball cricket

The 30-year-old Iyer has played 14 Test matches for the India National Cricket Team and has scored 811 runs at an average of 36.86, with one hundred and five fifties.

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He last played a Test match for India in February 2024 before being dropped from the side due to form and fitness issues. After that, he went on a grind in domestic cricket and played several red-ball matches as well.

Shreyas Iyer was recently named as the India A skipper for the four-day games against Australia A, and after playing the first match of the series, he decided to withdraw from the second one.

He was also in line to be named in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup, and there were expectations of his return to the Indian Test team for the home series against West Indies.

However, the batter requested the BCCI for a six-month break from red-ball cricket due to concerns about his back, and the BCCI gave him a green signal. The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that they will give Iyer time to build endurance in his body and work on fitness levels during this period.

I feel that if you are fit for white-ball cricket, you are obviously fit for red-ball cricket too - Dilip Vengsarkar

However, the former India captain and BCCI selector Dilip Vengsarkar is not happy seeing Shreyas Iyer step away from red-ball cricket, giving fitness excuses and playing white-ball cricket at the same time. He bluntly said that if a player is fit for white-ball cricket, he is fit for red-ball cricket too. Speaking to Mid-day, he said:

"To be honest, it’s a dilemma for me, because he [Iyer] says that he is unfit for red-ball cricket, but is fit for the white-ball cricket. I don’t understand the difference between red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket.

"I feel that if you are fit for white-ball cricket, you are obviously fit for red-ball cricket too. Choosing red-ball or white-ball and such things are beyond my comprehension," he added.

Also Read: Mohammed Siraj breaks silence on receiving 'Jasprit Bumrah' treatment from Shubman Gill on England tour

He’s one of those guys who hardly gets the credit he deserves - Harbhajan Singh

Rohit Sharma was recently sacked as India's ODI skipper, and Shubman Gill was handed the captaincy for the Australia tour. With Gill being elevated from vice-captain to captain, the BCCI named Shreyas Iyer as his deputy.

India leadership came to Iyer after a lot of grinding and hard work, both at the IPL and domestic cricket level. The bowling legend Harbhajan Singh was absolutely delighted to see Iyer back in the leadership frame and labelled him as an impact player for India.

"I’m very happy for Shreyas Iyer,” Harbhajan told JioHotstar. He’s one of those guys who hardly gets the credit he deserves. We talk about that World Cup in India — he scored back-to-back centuries, and with what pace! He’s an impact player; when he gets going, he makes things easy for the dressing room and the other batters.

"I’m happy he’s back in the scheme of things, not just as a player but with a bigger responsibility as vice-captain. I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table in terms of ideas and how he and Shubman Gill take this team forward," he added.