Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has voiced his surprise at Shreyas Iyer’s statement revealing that he wouldn’t have played the first ODI against England if Virat Kohli had been fit. Kohli was ruled out of the series opener after being sidelined with a knee injury. This led to India opting for a top four of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer.
With Jaiswal making his ODI debut, Gill was pushed down the order from his usual opening position. However, in a post-match conversation with the broadcasters, Iyer disclosed that his inclusion was due to Kohli’s injury.
“As many of you know, I wasn’t originally part of the starting XI. But with Virat getting injured, I got the opportunity. I always stay ready, knowing that at any moment I could be called upon,” he said.
“I’m still trying to understand that Iyer wasn’t supposed to play if Kohli was fit. Iyer is the first Indian to score over 500 runs batting at No. 4 in a World Cup in 2023. How could you leave him out? And if he wasn’t in the playing XI, where would Kohli bat? At No. 4? Surely, Gill wasn’t being moved to No. 4.”
With a potential three-way competition for two spots between Jaiswal, Gill, and Iyer, the latter delivered strong performances in the opening ODI against England. Iyer powered his way to 59, while Gill anchored the innings with a solid 87 off 96 balls. On the other hand, Jaiswal had a forgettable debut, managing just 15 runs off 22 balls.
“What’s interesting is that in the last 10 ODIs for India, both Iyer and Shubman Gill have averaged 60. That’s why many expected Iyer to be a guaranteed pick. Now, with discussions around the ideal combination for the next game, it looks like India may go with Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma as openers, leaving Iyer out of the middle order. It’s a tough but welcome dilemma for the team to have,” said Patel on Star Sports [via Hindustan Times].
The selection for the top four will be a key talking point, especially if Kohli regains fitness ahead of the second ODI in Cuttack on February 9.
