IND vs SA: He Is Making His Case Very Strong - Irfan Pathan On Whether Shreyas Iyer Will Make It To India's T20 World Cup Squad

Irfan Pathan feels Shreyas Iyer is building a compelling case for inclusion in Team India’s T20 World Cup team, which will be held in Australia later this year. 

In the present T20I series against South Africa, Shreyas has had a mixed bag of results. While he contributed well in the first two games, he was removed cheaply in the latter two games. 

Shreyas Iyer Has Done In Recent Series: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan was questioned whether Shreyas will make India’s T20 World Cup team during a Star Sports broadcast. 

He responded: “T20 World Cup is still far away. But apart from these couple of games, he has done well, be it the series against Sri Lanka or West Indies before the IPL. So yes, he is making his case very strong.” 

The former Indian all-rounder added that the Mumbai batter is the sort of player the Men In Blue need. Pathan explained: 

“He performed really well, he is just coming hard against the bowlers from the word go and that’s the kind of character you need as well when you want someone to bat higher up the order.” 

Before the IPL 2022, Shreyas was the top performance for Team India in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. The captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hammered undefeated half-centuries in all three games to win the ‘Player of the Series’ title. 

Facing Fast Bowling An Area Of Concern For Shreyas Iyer: Irfan Pathan

Pathan, on the other hand, did bring out an area where Shreyas’ playing may be improved. He elaborated: 

“At the same time, as far as the fast bowling is concerned, he needs to get better, and obviously because the World Cup is still far away, quite a few games he will be playing. In those games, whenever he is getting the opportunity after all the guys come in, he needs to make sure that he has a consistent performance.” 

Finally, the cricketer-turned-commentator stated that Shreyas should be considered by the selection.

Pathan reasoned: “He is a guy for the future, you need to keep that in mind. He has done well in Test cricket, whenever he is getting an opportunity in white-ball cricket, he is putting his hands up and doing well, so he is a guy the selectors need to keep an eye on.” 

In the T20I series against the Proteas, Shreyas has shown his mettle as a spinner. He has, however, struggled against the South African pacers. As a result, selectors may be hesitant to pick him for the T20 World Cup in Australia, which will be played on fast and bouncy wickets. 

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