Shreyas Iyer was one of the important players in Team India's run in the 50-over World Cup in 2023. Batting in the middle-order, the right-hander garnered 530 runs in the tournament and was ranked as the seventh-highest in the concluded ICC event
Shreyas Iyer (Pic: File Pic)
Australian legend Ricky Ponting is surprised with the fact that Shreyas Iyer has not secured a permanent slot in India's whit-ball team.
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Shreyas Iyer was one of the important players in Team India's run in the 50-over World Cup in 2023. Batting in the middle-order, the right-hander garnered 530 runs in the tournament and was ranked as the seventh-highest in the concluded ICC event.
In the first ODI against England, Shreyas Iyer played a 36-ball knock in which he scored 59 runs. In the domestic circuit too, the veteran has been phenomenal as he scored two centuries for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
"I've been a little bit surprised that he's been out of India's side in the last couple of years. He had a terrific World Cup back in India (2023) where he played beautifully in the middle-order and I actually felt then that he'd almost cemented that spot and made that his own," opined Ricky Ponting on ICC Review.
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"Then he had those couple of injuries, obviously injured his back and went out of the side, but his domestic season this year has been brilliant.
"It sort of coincided with what he's done since around (IPL) auction time going forward in domestic cricket, he has been pretty much outstanding," said Ponting about the right-hand batter, who guided Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last year after missing the 2023 edition due to a serious back injury.
Ricky Ponting feels Shreyas Iyer will thrive in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, which will kickstart from February 19.
"He's got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world," Ponting said.
"On those wickets -- the slower, lower wickets -- he's dynamic on those. We know how good a hitter of spin bowling he is and teams tend not to bowl a lot of spin at India, but at some stage it's going to come."
Ricky Ponting who is playing the role of coach for Punjab Kings bought the services of Shreyas Iyer for a whopping Rs 26.75 crore. He is "delighted" to see the Mumbai man in PBKS as the franchise looks to win their first title.
"If Shreyas is out in the middle, then he's as good as anyone. So, I'm delighted to see him back in the team."
(With PTI Inputs)
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