Shocked Beyond Words!! India coach refuses to take responsibility for Shreyas Iyer decision

Shreyas Iyer was a surprise inclusion in India's playing XI for the first ODI against England in Nagpur. The news came late at night when Indian captain Rohit Sharma informed Iyer that he would be playing in the three-match ODI series opener because of Virat Kohli's knee swelling.

With Virat Kohli unable to play, Shreyas was brought in as his replacement and delivered the match-winning performance for the Men in Blue at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. The middle-order batter played a key role in India's four-wicket victory in the first ODI against England on February 6.

Shreyas Iyer made the most of a last-minute opportunity in the Nagpur ODI

After Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal were out early, Shreyas Iyer stepped up and scored 59 runs off just 36 balls, as well as added 90+ runs with Shubman Gill to help India recover from the poor start. His quick and important knock helped India to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series.

Read Also: Shreyas Iyer or Yashasvi Jaiswal? Virat Kohli to replace this batter in playing XI for 2nd ODI vs England

But the most surprising and debatable thing was that Iyer was ignored by Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the reason behind the team’s bold move is still a mystery. However, the Indian batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, revealed that it was the captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir’s decision to sub Iyer for Yashasvi Jaiswal but refused to share more details behind the move.

Sitanshu Kotak reveals Rohit Sharma-Gautam Gambhir overlooked Shreyas Iyer for Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first ODI

During a pre-match press conference in Cuttack ahead of the second ODI, Sitanshu Kotak revealed that Yashasvi Jaiswal had the backing of both captain Rohit and head coach Gambhir. He also confirmed that the decision was made by the captain and coach to leave out the experienced and in-form batter Iyer for the first ODI against England.

But the batting coach preferred not to comment on the decision as to why Yashasvi Jaiswal was preferred over Shreyas Iyer. This decision has already raised many eyebrows, but Kotak did not provide any further insights into the reasons. Well, Iyer is all set to face a similar situation for the second ODI, as Virat Kohli is now fit and ready to play in Cuttack.

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Will Shreyas Iyer return for the second ODI against England?

Now, it will be interesting to see whether India backs the youngster Jaiswal despite his poor outing in Nagpur or Iyer is retained for the second ODI after his attacking knock in the series opener against England. Notably, Iyer had been India’s preferred No. 4 batter before the England series.

Iyer has the experience of 63 ODIs, where he amassed 2580 runs at an average of nearly 48 and a strike rate of over 100. On the other hand, Yashasvi made his ODI debut in Nagpur. However, the young opener has been excellent in Test cricket ever since he made his debut for the side.

Meanwhile, Sitanshu Kotak also opened up about Jasprit Bumrah's fitness. However, the Indian batting coach said that he is not aware of Bumrah’s scans. He signed off by saying, “Not aware about Bumrah's scans, so that will be obvious our doctor or physio will know about that.”