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Yashasvi Jaiswal is reportedly set to continue as India’s opener in the second ODI against England. This might mean Shreyas Iyer can be dropped for Virat Kohli, who’ll return from injury.
Shreyas Iyer. (Sportzpics Photo)
Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer might get dropped from India’s 11 for the second ODI against England in Cuttack despite scoring a match-winning half-century in the first match in Kolkata on Thursday. According to a report by news agency PTI, Yashasvi Jaiswal is likely to continue as an opener, thanks to the team management’s preference for left-right hand combinations with the bat.
The report said Iyer was absent from India’s option nets session on Saturday, the eve of the second match. Virat Kohli, who missed the first game due to a knee issue, batted for nearly an hour. He went through his warm-up routine, before looking in complete control against local net bowlers.
The report described his timing as ‘exquisite’, and enough to get a small crowd gathered to watch the nets going. If he comes in for Iyer, he’ll be pushed to number four. He last batted there in 2020.
Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, and Harshit Rana were also absent from the optional session. Skipper Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, had a rough outing at the nets, getting cleaned up twice by the local net bowlers, which is a discouraging sign for the team after his failure to cross single digits in Kolkata.
Iyer was considered a sure-shot starter at number four before this series, given his consistency there in the lead-up to and during the 2023 World Cup. To many, Jaiswal’s inclusion was seen as a result of Kohli’s injury.
However, Iyer, after the first match, said he was supposed to be dropped for Jaiswal and got a chance when Rohit called him late on the night before the match informing him about Kohli’s injury.
“I was watching a movie last night, thinking I could stay up late, but then I got a call from the skipper saying I might have to play because Virat had a swollen knee. I rushed back to my room and went straight to sleep,” Iyer said.
India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was asked about the team combination in the pre-match press conference but he refused to commit.
“That’s something for the head coach and captain to decide. Yes, the left-right combination is an important factor, but that’s not a question for me to answer,” he said.
- Location :
Cuttack, India, India
