"Shreyas Iyer kept his balance and carried the same temperament from domestic cricket" - Pragyan Ojha praises debutant's display on Day 1 of 1st Test

Former Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha praised Shreyas Iyer's temperament on his debut in Tests for the national team. The debutant notched a well composed half-century after coming in to bat at No.5. Iyer remained unbeaten on 75 at Stumps on Day 1 of the first Test between India and New Zealand.

Ojha explained how players tend to be frustrated after not being called-up to the first team despite their contributions in domestic cricket. The built-up angst could hinder their performance when they eventually get called up.

Ojha praised Iyer for keeping his composure and playing for the team. While speaking on Cricbuzz, he said:

"Many times we have heard that talented players have breakthrough seasons in the fomestic circuit but when they don't get called up after that, they get frustrated. And when they eventually do get called up, they don't play with the same flow. But Iyer kept his balance and carried the same temperament from domestic cricket. He kept himself mentally balanced."

With India's middle-order being at their peak during Iyer's resurgence in domestic cricket, his call-up to the national team was pushed back. He was called up as cover for the injured Virat Kohli in the 2017 Border-Gavaskar series, but did not feature.

But his performances eventually received the merit they deserved when Iyer was handed his debut cap earlier today.

Ojha noted the manner in which Iyer took calculative risks against the spinners. Being a naturally attacking player, embodied by his strike rate of 82 in first-class cricket, Iyer got over a fidgety start, got into rhythm and looked comfortable against spin. Ojha added:

"So far, the way Iyer has batted, he has shown has showed that if a player has played domestic cricket for a considerable amount of time consistently with a good average, the player possesses a special quality. When he was attacking the spinners, He was so calculative, rotated the strike after a big shot. These small things should be noticed by the younger players out there."

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Iyer should be given a fair amount of chances: Ojha

With the return of Virat Kohli imminent in the next Test match, there will be some shuffling required in the middle order. Iyer's display added more pressure to the under-fire duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara as well.

Ojha reckons that the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Hanuma Vihari should be kept in a pool of players and properly groomed for a smooth transition in the future.

"When a player performs like this the conversation of a position will soon begin, especially when the senior players are not doing so well. According to me, Iyer should be given a fair amount of chances and be kept in the pool of players as he has shown that he has the temperament to play at this level," Ojha said. "Suryakumar Yadav and Hanuma Vihari should also be in the pool because they have been impressive in the domestic circuit. A situation should not arise wherein the junior players are not ready during the transition phase."

The senior pair of Pujara (26) and Ajinkya Rahane (35) worked hard for their starts on Day 1 of the first India-New Zealand Kanpur Test. However, both batsmen succumbed to poor shot selection during a vital period in the second session.