Shreyas Iyer’s purple patch is doing more than powering Punjab Kings (PBKS) up the IPL table; it is convincing senior pros such as R Ashwin that the batter-captain has outgrown the “fringe” tag at international level.
PBKS sat top after five completed matches and one wash-out, the best start in the franchise’s history. Iyer’s scores – 50, 69* and 66 in his last three knocks – have come at a strike-rate a shade under 190, a number that will raise eyebrows in any selection meeting. Ashwin, speaking on the TimeOut programme, argued that the conversation should already be over.
Key voices
“I’m not just looking at the runs being made, the volume of it, or the sixes or the fours, but just the sheer presence on the ground. And that tells you a story,” Ashwin said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut programme.
That “presence”, he added, comes from a place few players visit.
“When Shreyas Iyer is just marking his guard – every single time and for the last five games in this edition – it just looks like he’s in a zone that’s probably not conceivable for people who have not seen the game in the same way [as cricketers]. It’s called a zone. You get into phases in your career where you almost feel like [for] a year or two, you don’t put a foot wrong.”
Pillars of form
Iyer’s refusal to ignore weaknesses – the short ball has long been one – impressed Ashwin most.
“His sheer presence [at the crease] is terrifying the bowlers in many ways,” Ashwin said. “And how has he done that? His appetite to be able to upskill himself is sensational. I’ve played cricket for quite an amount of time. I’ve interacted with a lot of cricketers. Not many have the appetite to be able to leave what they’re good at and explore areas where they’re weak.”
Working on that weak spot has changed field settings. Quick bowlers now pitch up; the 31-year-old drives them down the ground instead.
“And then he is hitting fast bowlers down the ground. He has always been very good hitting it down the ground. But why is he doing it? Because people are not bowling short to him anymore. They know he is putting it away. And that’s sensational.”
From good to great
For Ashwin, that readiness to be uncomfortable signals a player “moving from good to great”.
“And that journey is what I suggest as good to great. I personally think Shreyas has embarked on the journey of going from being good to being great. And I’m not saying he is great. I’m saying it’s a journey. It has been said that he can’t play the short ball. He said, ‘okay, I’ll pull the short ball in a Test match and get out, but I’m not shying away from the contest’. Pulling Jasprit Bumrah front of square over midwicket for a six. That’s probably inspirational to a lot of cricketers watching the game.”
Leadership benefit
Form with the bat spills naturally into leadership, Ashwin believes. PBKS reached last year’s final and have looked similarly calm this season.
“Just the comfort that he is creating around the team, to say, we will have a brotherly conversation,” the off-spinner noted. While the quote tails off mid-thought, team-mates echo the sentiment privately: Iyer is a captain who listens first, then speaks.
Selection debate
“At this point of time, if he is not going to find higher honours, it’s not his loss anymore. It’s ours that we can’t see him do what he is doing [for PBKS] for the Indian team, in national colours,” Ashwin warned.
India’s top order for the T20 format is busy – Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryakumar Yadav are incumbents – but the upcoming World Cup in southern Africa leaves one middle-order place unresolved. Iyer’s ability to start fast and maintain tempo (a 190 strike-rate means 1.9 runs per ball on average) would address India’s historical mid-innings lull.
Technique in plain sight
Watch the feet: Iyer now sets a deeper guard, giving himself space both for the pull and the straight drive. The trigger movement is minimal; hands stay high, allowing him to ride the bounce rather than fend at it. None of this is revolutionary coaching-manual stuff, yet implementing it mid-season takes mettle.
Everything else – diet, rest, net sessions – appears aligned. As Ashwin put it:
“And that happens because you’re in a zone. Everything is ticking. Starting from what you’re eating, when you’re sleeping, how you’re practicing. You hit a ball in the nets and you get the same ball when you play the first one and the next.”
Where next?
PBKS resume on Thursday against a Sunrisers attack led by the still-quick Pat Cummins. Another big night, and the clamour for an India recall will grow louder, even if Iyer himself keeps his counsel in public.
For now, numbers and Ashwin’s testimony do the talking. If national selectors decide to listen, they might find a ready-made solution staring them in the face.
