Right-handed batter Shreyas Iyer has loads of talent but
over the course of last two years, he has developed a weakness against the
short ball and the opposition uses that tactic whenever the batter comes out to
the crease. Shreyas' KKR coach Brendon McCullum was seen given signals to
England bowlers to bowl short balls at him and the batter was dismissed through
that ploy in both the innings of the recently-concluded Edgbaston Test which
India lost by seven wickets.
Ex-BCCI selector Jatin Paranjape talked about Shreyas Iyer
and how he needs to sort out his short-ball weakness by grinding it out in the
middle.
"I think there are several approaches to this. I don't
have a doubt in my mind that Shreyas Iyer has the talent. More importantly, I
think he has the gravitas for international cricket. I feel it is a question of
learning. From what I saw of him, it's that one ball that got him which he
played badly. You could see it in his eyes that he knew he had to bat half a
session more. I was thinking to myself the ball before he got out that if
Shreyas bats 30-35 minutes here, we are home," the former India player and
selector told senior sports journalist Jamie Alter in an interview.
"The next ball he got out. It is something he will
learn through direct experience. Rahul Dravid having two cups of
coffee with you isn't going to teach you how to do it. You've got to go out
there and grind it out. I just hope that Shreyas keeps getting chances. Scoring
runs in England against this bowling attack is not an easy proposition, but I
think somewhere he's got to find that right balance between waiting it out and
playing to his areas of strength. And that can only come with more air
miles," he added.
Iyer had recorded scores of 15 and 19 in the
recently-concluded Edgbaston Test against England.
Even during the IPL, Shreyas' short-ball weakness came to
the forefront and opposition used that tactic to get the better of him.
In the Edgbaston Test, Ben Stokes-led England defeated India
by seven wickets as they chased down 378 in the fourth innings and as a result,
the series that got underway last year, finished as 2-2.