Sanjay Manjrekar reveals why Shreyas Iyer was dropped from Indian Test team

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opined on Shreyas Iyer’s omission from the Team India squad for the Tests against England. He believes that the batter’s recent performances have caused him to lose his place in the squad.

Shreyas Iyer wasn’t named in the  Indian team for the last three Tests against England. The batter was dropped from the team after his poor performances in Test cricket of late. He was under a lot of scrutiny as well for his torrid outings.

Shreyas Iyer was expected to play a huge role in the Test series against England. But he turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments for the team in two games. It wasn’t as if he was struggling to get going. He had starts but he failed to convert that and bagged low scores.

In the four innings in the ongoing Test series against England, Shreyas Iyer bagged scores of 35, 13, 27 and 29. Touted as the best batter of the spin, the right-hander perished to spinners and his wicket put pressure on the team every time.

Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Shreyas Iyer had a great opportunity in the last game but he didn’t cash. He added that despite the long run, the batter failed to make his mark. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he explained:

“He had great opportunity I thought in the last innings where Shubman Gill was able to cash in. And also scores before that in South Africa. So what we have seen with this team management and the new selection committee. They give a fair run to players and it’s not just the home series but the recent performances of Shreyas Iyer in Test cricket have got him to lose his place in the squad.”

While talking about the future of Shreyas Iyer in Tests, Sanjay Manjrekar feels that the batter in an attempt to strengthen his skills in white-ball cricket has lost his Test match skills. He added:

“T20s, 50 overs, he seems pretty good. He had a very good World Cup as well. And you are working on skills required for T20s and 50 overs. Whether you like it or not and it’s unavoidable, you are actually diminishing your Test match skills. Your improvement in white-ball cricket, batting especially comes at the cost of your Test match batting which is mostly about leaving balls outside the off stump and playing it close to the bat.”

Just develop a game where he’s confident in defense – Sanjay Manjrekar on Shreyas Iyer

Sanjay Manjrekar said that Shreyas Iyer needs to decide which format he wants to prioritize. He added that if a batter wants to keep Test cricket at the top, he needs to develop a game where he’s confident in defense. He added:

“Two things that you never want to do in T20s. Basically, he has to decide which are the formats that is going to try and excel in. If Test matches continue to be his priority then he just got to work on his defensive game whether it’s pace and bounce or spin.

“Just develop a game where he’s confident in defense. Then when he takes the aggressive route, it’s like an extension of defensive play where he’s trying to dominate and not escape pressure or release pressure by playing the counter-attacking game.”

It remains to be seen what will be the future of Shreyas Iyer in Test cricket. With Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, and KL Rahul in the mix, it will be difficult for him to make a comeback.