Has Shreyas Iyer put the short-ball demons behind?

Shreyas Iyer has polarised the cricket-loving community into two halves – those who back him to the hilt and those who wish to dispose him from the Indian squad until he improves his capability against the short ball. There is some merit in both standpoints. However, for now, Shreyas Iyer is enjoying his batting form with two half-centuries from the first two ODIs against West Indies.

In the chase of 312 runs, India lost their top order for the score of 79. Combining with Sanju Samson, Iyer added 99 runs for the team while scoring 63 of his own. His unfortunate dismissal off Alzarri Joseph’s bowling was a result of a marginal LBW call from the field umpire which the batter failed to overturn. India still pulled off the chase owing to the heroics of Axar Patel.

“I was really happy to get what score I got today but really unhappy with the way I was dismissed. I thought I could have taken the team through easily. Making half-centuries, I’m fortunate to have got those, but I have to convert it to a hundred. You don’t often get these chances in international cricket. Today was a great chance, I felt,” Shreyas Iyer said after the game.

Iyer had struck 54 in the first ODI which also resulted in a victory. In fact, the Mumbai batter has fond memories of Port of Spain, Trinidad. At this venue, he has struck four fifties in all the four games he has batted. However, the critics will still not be satisfied with Iyer’s resolve.

“Obviously, whatever hard work you do has to be off the field,” Iyer said, of his work against the short ball. “What you see here is only the reward. I love working hard. I’ve been working very hard lately. The wickets and conditions change, matches keep coming back to back. You have to be fit, you have to motivate yourself. My mindset is that I will control the controllable, only then I can execute.

The West Indies tracks are not the demonic fast pitches anymore which used to exist in the 80s and 90s. The tracks are considerably slower and lower nowadays which trim down the fast bowler’s weaponry. In these two ODIs, Iyer has faced a total of 128 deliveries and has scored 117 runs off them. If we divide them into pace and spin, his problems peep through the numbers. Against the pace of Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales and Romario Shepherd, Iyer has accumulated 26 runs in 40 balls. Whereas against spin, Iyer has struck 69 runs off 68 balls.

This chart illustrates Iyer’s problems with the bouncy and pacy tracks of England, South Africa and Australia. While every run adds confidence to the batter’s poise, Iyer will still need to pass the difficult test against short balls on the tracks that will challenge him.