Mumbai (Maharashtra): The biggest question facing Team India in the 2019 World Cup was the number four batter. India went into that World Cup without any specialist batter in that position. Everything was going smoothly till the semi-final, but then the obstacle in front of Team India was New Zealand pacer Trent Boult. In the semi-final against the Kiwis in 2019, India's top order collapsed as Boult wreaked havoc and it also shattered India's dream of winning the ODI World Cup.
Four years later, India and New Zealand will lock horns at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the semi-final of the ongoing Cricket World Cup. This time the situation is different. In this World Cup, India has a specialist batter at number four in Shreyas Iyer and the Mumbaikar has won everyone's hearts with his performance.
Shreyas Iyer's career so far has been a roller coaster ride. He made his Indian Premier League debut in 2015 at the age of just 20. He played his first T20 and ODI for India in 2017. But after that, he could not maintain consistency in his performance. But in the last two years, he has truly settled in Team India. Now in this World Cup, he has performed well in the important fourth position and has played the role given by the team management to perfection.
Shreyas' dream fulfilled: Shreyas Iyer's coach and former India batter Pravin Amre had an exclusive conversation with 'ETV Bharat' about his performance in the ongoing World Cup. Shreyas Iyer scored his maiden World Cup century against the Netherlands on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. Pravin Amre said the dream of Shreyas has come true. "Any player dreams of scoring a century in the World Cup. Shreyas also had that dream, which has now come true," quipped Amre.
Shreyas improved his game: Shreyas, who stumbles against the bouncing ball, performed well on that ball against the Netherlands. Speaking about this, Pravin Amre said, "Shreyas (Iyer) has improved his game a lot. In his tough times, when he was injured, he got a lot of support from the team management. The team also believed in him. So the credit should go to the management too", added Amre, who played 11 Tests and 37 ODIs.
Played the role given to him: Pravin Amre said Shreyas Iyer played the role given to him in this World Cup well. "When we go with six specialist batters, the role of the number four batter is important. Shreyas has played at that number earlier in his career. He has consistently performed well playing at that number. That's why Team India trusted him in this World Cup," said Amre, who made his ODI debut against South Africa at Eden Gardens in 1991.
Can Shreyas lead the Indian team? : Shreyas Iyer has been captaining in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2018. Can he lead the Indian team in the future? On this question, such things are not decided, said Pravin Amre.
"It takes time. There are a lot of senior players in the team. Now Shreyas (Iyer) just has to focus on how he can score maximum runs. If you perform well, these things happen automatically," Amre concluded.
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