“We don’t really know about his form” - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer puzzle heading into World Cup 2023

Team India batter Shreyas Iyer may have been declared fit for the ODIs against Australia, but former cricketer Aakash Chopra is concerned about his form with just two matches left before the World Cup.

Following his recovery from a back injury, Shreyas made a comeback to international cricket during the Asia Cup. However, he suffered back spasms during the tournament and did not feature in the Super 4 round matches and the final.

The 28-year-old was declared fit ahead of the one-day series at home against Australia. He was part of the playing for the first ODI in Mohali on Friday. However, the right-handed batter was run out for 3 off 8 balls following a mix-up with Shubman Gill. Earlier, he was dismissed for 14 in the Asia Cup group match against Pakistan.

While discussing the batter’s case, Chopra said [8:05] on his YouTube channel that India could be in a tight spot heading into the World Cup if Shreyas doesn’t score in the next two games.

“Shreyas Iyer got run out, so we don’t really know about his form. There are only two matches left now and if India are unable to find out about his form, they will be trouble. There are questions to ponder in the middle order. [KL] Rahul is playing well, but what about Shreyas and Ishan Kishan? One of them will play in the middle order,” he said.

Following the win in Mohali, India will take on Australia in the second and third ODIs in Indore and Rajkot on September 24 and 27, respectively. The third one-dayer will be India’s last international game ahead of the World Cup, which begins on October 5.

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“Suryakumar batting at five instead of Kishan or Shreyas is also a possibility” - Chopra

While Shreyas failed to deliver in the Mohali ODI, Suryakumar ended his barren run in the format with his first half-century since February 2022. The latter scored 50 off 49 balls, adding 80 runs for the fifth wicket with KL Rahul (58* off 63).

Sharing his thoughts on Suryakumar’s return to form [8:55] in the ODI format, Chopra opined:

“Everyone in the team management showed faith in him because he is a good player. And Suryakumar Yadav batted quite well. He finds gaps and puts pressure on the bowlers. A lot of times, he plays scoops, but this time he played strokes down the ground. He needs to do this regularly in ODIs and, if he does that, his ability to score runs in ODIs will increase manifold."

“Suryakumar batting at five instead of Kishan or Shreyas is also a possibility. That is of course if Suryakumar finds the ODI template. He has made a start,” the 33-year-old concluded.

Apart from Suryakumar and Rahul, openers Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad also struck fifties in the Mohali ODI as India registered a five-wicket win.