Stand-in ODI captain Shreyas Iyer on Sunday differed with head coach Gautam Gambhir’s views on India’s batting struggles in New Zealand, saying the conditions here cannot be compared to World Cup host country South Africa and the five-match series was dominated by the bowlers on either side.
After India were bundled out for 89 in the fourth ODI, Gambhir had expressed his concerns over the batters’ underwhelming show despite being mindful of the challenging conditions. “I think I will be concerned because obviously these are conditions which are going to be closest to what we might get during the World Cup,” Gambhir had said.
When asked if the ODI series in New Zealand was a dress rehearsal for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa next October-November, Iyer politely disagreed with Gambhir following the win in the fifth ODI that ensured a 3-1 series victory for the visitors.
“We are in New Zealand so we can’t really compare with South Africa. Weather will be different. Especially from the batting point of view both teams, it did not happen, our bowling was consistently good and theirs too, and the wicket was predominantly bowler support. “But the most important thing for us was to win the series, and we won. So after that, we don’t think much about the rest,” said Iyer at the press conference.
Iyer, leading the side in the absence of Shubman Gill, did not have the best of tours with the bat. The lean run led to the resumption of chatter over his short-ball play. Asked about the challenge of batting overseas where visiting teams don’t get to bat in centre wickets unlike India, Iyer said it makes their job harder.
“We don’t get to practice in the centre wicket here, so we don’t gauge where the ball is going to go. Whenever we come overseas, we get to practice in the open net. Everything is monotonous.
“Once we get an idea, because in India we get an open net, so when we hit, we know where the ball is going, where it’s travelling. So that is one challenge that we face overseas. But if you’re playing consistently overall, and when there is travel, practice in between, it kind of gets exhausting.
“And it definitely reflects in the performance as well. We are all humans at the end of the day and not machines,” said Iyer. On captaining in ODIs versus T20s, he added: “I think I’ve captained enough now. But ODI is kind of challenging because you’ve got to constantly keep your mind working throughout 50 overs, and it’s a bit exhausting.
“I experienced that in the first game, but today was, you know, there was a period where the game went slow, and it was going in rhythm. There was excitement, and then it went slow.
“But that’s how you gauge the pace of the game. And it’s a learning curve every day. So 50-50, one out, one loss, and one win. Kind of ecstatic.”
Iyer said the team moved on from its second biggest defeat in ODIs pretty quickly.
“Honestly speaking, the next day, we forgot about the loss. We didn’t even discuss about what happened. It was one odd game.
“We just had to brush it under the carpet and move on. Because I feel they have also come to win. They will be playing their best brand of cricket.
“And that day, Matt Henry was bowling gas. He was lethal, and he was bowling with venom. So I think credit where it’s due.”
Mohammed Siraj finally got to play on Sunday and he lived up to his standards. Iyer praised Siraj’s unflinching spirit.
“I feel Mohammed Siraj is like that guy who is, when you see a horse in a war, who is fearless, who wants to go and battle in every field. He’s that kind of a player. Obviously, he wasn’t part of a couple of games previously. But today, he got that opportunity. He lived up to the expectation.”