‘I was asked to play, not thinking about…’: Shreyas Iyer

NEW DELHI: Shreyas Iyer remains unfazed by the exclusion from the Afghanistan T20I series and is not overly concerned about the forthcoming England Test series following a challenging performance in South Africa.
Iyer’s absence from the ongoing T20 series against Afghanistan is attributed to the abundance of right-handed batsmen in the Indian top order, according to insiders familiar with the situation.”See, right now I’m being in the present. I have finished the match which I was asked to play (Ranji game against Andhra). I came, and I executed, so I am happy with what I’m doing.
“Something that is not in my control, I can’t be focusing on that. Coming here and winning the match was my focus and that’s what we did today,” Iyer told reporters after Mumbai’s emphatic win.
In the face of Andhra bowlers attempting to exploit his perceived weakness against short-pitched deliveries, Iyer responded with a brisk innings, scoring 48 runs off as many balls.
Asked about the Test series, Iyer replied he isn’t looking that far ahead.
“It’s important to take one match at a time, not think about five-match Test series. The team is only for the first two games. The motto would be to perform in the first two games and then look forward to the rest of the games.”
Iyer, a master player of slow bowling, is expecting turners against England with first Test starting on January 25.
What Iyer found most satisfying during 145 plus overs of fielding, across two Andhra innings, was his fitness.
“I’m assuming that we would be getting turning wickets against England. But other than that, it was just for my match fitness, to stay on the field as long as possible, that’s what mainly I was focusing on because especially after my injury, it has been tough for me to stick on the outfield for long. So this was great practice for me.”

Iyer’s Test career is at the crossroads and there are no guarantees if he would be able to hold on to his place.
“It’s fun. I love competition, and when competition is there, you face more challenges. And that’s what I thrive on personally. So I enjoy having competition around because then you can go at each other and also against the opponents to show your talent and skills.”
Won’t change his batting style
On the Ranji match against Andhra in which Mumbai cruised to 10-wicket victory over Andhra, Iyer said that he would attack irrespective of match situation just like he did on the first day.
“I’m going to play attacking irrespective of the situation. And also when you bowl negative, when you bowl safe and defensive at the start, you want to score runs and you need to take your team through up to a certain point.
“So that was my mindset and that’s why stuck with. Yeah, I was happy irrespective of the score,” he said.
(With PTI Inputs)