Examination of Iyer selection reveals weaknesses in India’s strategy

In Mumbai, the saying "One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity" rings true, especially in the world of sports. With Virat Kohli's absence in the first ODI against England, Shreyas Iyer seized the moment and played a phenomenal innings, scoring an aggressive 59 runs to shift the momentum in India's favor.

When Iyer was laid low by back spasms in the 2023 Asia Cup, KL Rahul capitalised on the lucky break and never looked back. The right-hander from Mumbai could not win his spot back in the tournament. But Kohli, when he regains fitness, is sure to walk back into the eleven. There are various layers to this discussion and this is just the beginning.

It does mean that the team has options and these days they tend to call it a happy headache. However, should Iyer’s name have been on the chopping block in the first place? Would dropping him be the right call? Would benching an in-form batter in favour of an out-of-form senior will be the way to go?

Dropped from international cricket in other formats, Iyer played in domestic cricket across formats and scored consistently. He averaged 325 over 5 matches and stayed unbeaten in four Vijay Hazare (one dayers) matches, scored at a strike rate of 188 across nine Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s and averaged 68.57 in five Ranji Trophy matches. His only failures were in the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, last year, where the entire Indian batting line-up, barring twin fifties from Rohit Sharma, failed to click.

Besides Indian selectors have largely retained the performers from the 2023 ODI World Cup, where Iyer had aggregated 530 runs and was the team’s third leading run scorer. He was the player Australia feared ahead of the final. No wonder Iyer was coy when Parthiv Patel expressed surprise after he revealed in the post-match broadcast that he was going to sit out the game, if not for Kohli’s injury. “I know what you want me to say, but I’m going to keep it low key and cherish this moment, the victory today,” Iyer said.

Iyer, not being considered a lock-in at No.4 – he averages 52 in 34 innings in that position - has shades of Shubman Gill being unceremoniously being dropped (for Washington Sundar) from the recent Melbourne Test match. The two senior batters Rohit and Kohli, ODI powerhouses both, but searching for runs throughout the season has compounded matters.

Iyer choosing an opportunity of his liking to let it be known that he’s not a certainty in the side also shows up the tension within the team set-up over playing berths.

On their part, the team management is clearly searching for ways to break the monotony of the predominantly right-handed Indian batting line up. In Nagpur, left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal was chosen as opener over Shubman Gill, who dropped down to No.3. Axar Patel was promoted to No.5 which saw KL Rahul pushed back to No 6.

While floaters being pushed up to win game situations is common, any tweak in the top order for left-right combine cannot come at the expense of an in-form player. Iyer’s stroke filled innings was as strong a statement as there could be that he is seeing the ball big.

“The game was in the balance. Shreyas chose to take on our aggressive bowling with positive shots and got them away, so credit to him,” England captain Jos Buttler said.

Buttler’s point is backed by CricViz’s predicative model which saw the match in balance when Iyer walked out at 19/2, chasing 249. During the Mumbai batter’s innings, it went up to 82-18 in India’s favour. Iyer made light of his perceived short ball weakness too, attacking everything that was pitched back of a length or short. He scored 22 runs off 11 balls against such lengths, 68% of his runs coming behind square.

A strong riposte from Iyer made England’s tactics look predictable. “They were predominantly using the short ball deliveries and I decided to use the pace and hit the ball in the air as the field was inside. I was glad that I was able to execute the shots,” said Iyer.

Kohli’s batting position

If the team sticks to their plan A and Iyer fails to retain his place in the second ODI at Cuttack, who will bat at No 3 as against who should? Gill, who with his 87 guided the team close to victory in the first match? Or does Kohli return to his happy space where he has scored 11,785 out of his 13,906 career runs?

Kohli has been the ODI team’s backbone for many years. Pushing him out of position ahead of a world event could rebound as a tactic. Sachin Tendulkar scored runs everywhere he was asked to. But he was never comfortable returning to No 4, after he found his sweet spot at the top.

The Gambhir-Rohit think tank, in their time together, have not been shy of taking a left-field approach. But they will have to tread carefully before deciding. After all, a poor decision could hurt India in more ways than one.

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