IND vs SA: Wasim Jaffer Believes Shreyas Iyer Needs To Focus On His Game Against Fast Bowlers

Former India batsman Wasim Jaffer has pointed out that Shreyas Iyer does have drawbacks against pace, which he must overcome given that he bats in the top order in T20Is.

Wasim said that Iyer will not really believe as pleasant against pace as he does against spin and it was obvious by the way the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper staggered his game in the first T20I against South Africa on Thursday in New Delhi.

Shreyas Iyer scored a 27-ball 36 against South Africa in the first T20I series after replacing Virat Kohli, who’d been rested and including Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Iyer went after the spinners, smashing three sixes and a boundary, but he only handled 13 off 17 deliveries.

Iyer’s scoring rate against pace, even in the Indian Premier League, needs to stand out at slightly more than 120. In T20I cricket, Mumbai batsmen strike at a rate of over 150 against spin, but only in the low 130s against pace.

‘Iyer needs to work on some shots’: Wasim Jaffer

Wasim Jaffer believes that Iyer will not be as comfortable against pace as he is against spin.

“You know how when Shreyas gets caught, he moves around a lot on the wicket?

“He goes outside and intends to get to the other side. Otherwise, he won’t be hitting many boundaries or sixes off, fast bowlers. “He tried to take down Shamsi, and then Ishan Kishan ended up taking on the Keshav Maharaj risk,” Wasim Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.

“In the future, he needs to establish some shots that will allow him to control fast bowlers as well. He is batting in the top four and it is not a backend batsman.

“So he needs to work on his play, particularly his boundary hitting against fast bowlers. That inning could’ve been much best. If he would have hit a bunch more home runs in this inning, he could have added another 10-15 runs,” Wasim Jaffer continued.

On Sunday, June 12, India and South Africa will play the second T20I of their five-match series. The game is set to take place at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium.

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