Shreyas Iyer's short-ball problems force him to take a backward step

A few months ago, Shreyas Iyer was the toast of the town. When Sri Lanka came calling, the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper was at his best across formats and made a compelling case to be considered India’s best young all-format batter.

While the Test displays, especially at Bengaluru, were a sight to behold, it was his performance in the T20I series that stood out. Not just because he was filling a massive Virat Kohli-shaped void, but also because there have historically been question marks over Shreyas' suitability to the shortest format.

During that T20I rubber, the KKR captain plundered 204 runs at a strike rate of 174.35. He wasn’t dismissed either and looked comfortable against all types of bowling. His batting against pace, in particular, was superb. When facing fast bowlers, he scored at a strike rate of 172.44. It might have been lower than his overall strike-rate throughout the series but, when considering 169 of his runs came against pace, it was a refreshing sight.

Then, the IPL came around – an IPL season that was supposed to cast Shreyas as the undisputed heir to Kohli’s No.3 throne. With the former Indian skipper not uprooting many trees lately, it was also believed that Shreyas could usurp the veteran, provided he continued his stellar form.

He began the season well and there were patches where his innate talent shone through. But when he came up against the searing pace of Umran Malik, he hit a massive stumbling block. Not because he was cleaned up by India’s fastest pacer, but because he looked very uncomfortable when being peppered with pace.

For those unaware, Shreyas was castled by Umran in that particular game at the Brabourne Stadium. Before slipping in the yorker, the Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler had the KKR skipper hopping around. In retaliation, he shimmied across his crease, only to see his stumps in an almighty mess.

That might not have meant much for most, considering any batter can be outwitted by a bowler on a particular day. But, with each passing game, it seems that Shreyas’ weaknesses have been latched onto by oppositions. South Africa, in particular, have exploited that to the tee and have ensured that the head of steam Shreyas generated at the start of the year has been nullified.

Shreyas Iyer has huffed and puffed against pace

Against South Africa, he has scored 42 runs against pace. Those runs, though, have come off 48 balls and at a strike rate of 87.5. He has also been dismissed thrice by fast bowlers. In Delhi, he had an ugly hack across the line. In Cuttack, he went feeling for a delivery that could’ve been met with something more forceful. And in Rajkot, he was so tentative about the short delivery that he was caught on the crease, being trapped lbw to the left-arm pace of Marco Jansen.

In each of these dismissals, the right-handed batter seemed to hesitate in his footwork. Usually a buccaneering and dominating front-foot batter, he dawdled just a split second more. And in top-level cricket, that is what makes all the difference.

Prior to the 4th T20I, many would’ve been forgiven to think that this pattern wasn’t really a pattern. That it was an aberration Shreyas would correct sooner rather than later. But the position he found himself in against Jansen hinted that there might be something deeper running under the surface.

It might be that he isn’t confident in his back-foot play anymore. Or, it could be a case of the South African bowlers exploiting his weakness mercilessly. It could even be a situation where Shreyas is so circumspect about the short delivery that he is perhaps not watching the ball as closely as he normally does.

Mind you, most of this might seem stupid and you would argue that an international batter would be aware of these trivial things. But when your brain gets cluttered and when it gets littered with a million unwanted thoughts, the basics could be one of many casualties.

From an immediate perspective, it is something Shreyas simply has to correct. Whether he resorts to more shimmying around the crease, or whether he backs himself to handle the short-ball challenge, is up to him. Had he not been adept to play international cricket, he wouldn’t have scored so many runs for India across formats.

It's just that when a batter is incessantly troubled by the short-ball, word of mouth flies quicker than a game of Chinese whispers. Almost everyone knows what to bowl and even if they don’t have that particular skill-set, they play on the tentativeness of the batter. It might not have reached that stage yet, although the onus is on him to ensure it doesn’t get to that point.

From a slightly more long-term standpoint, this new-found shortcoming, or resurfacing of an age-old problem, has clouded Shreyas’ credentials for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Kohli hasn’t covered himself in any glory lately but with the KKR skipper not scoring enough runs, that decision isn’t as tough as it could’ve been. In many ways, his short-ball problems have led to him taking a backward step – both literally and metaphorically.

Back in February, there were murmurs that Shreyas deserved a spot in India’s first-choice T20I side, irrespective of what the other illustrious names were up to. Now, there is a feeling that Shreyas might actually not be ready to power India’s T20 World Cup challenge – that too in Australia, where his deficiency against the short-ball could be laid bare for everyone to witness.

He could still become India’s best all-format batter in a couple of years’ time. For now, though, that notion is being tested to the hilt. And the question marks over his suitability to T20I cricket seem to have returned – just as quickly as they threatened to evaporate.