Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has taken a dig at Indian batter Shreyas Iyer for his poor performance in the Duleep Trophy. Iyer, who captained India D, was dismissed for a seven-ball duck in the first innings against India A. Ali claimed that Iyer has lost his hunger for red-ball cricket, focusing too much on hitting boundaries instead of building an innings.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali expressed disappointment in Iyer’s approach, suggesting that he should have scored 100-200 runs in the match. He went on to say that if it were up to him, Iyer would not be part of the Duleep Trophy at all, pointing out the absence of senior players like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in the competition.
“Iyer doesn’t seem to have the drive for red-ball cricket anymore. He’s more focused on boundaries. If I were a selector, I wouldn’t have included him in the Duleep Trophy,” Ali remarked.
Shreyas Iyer still has a few more innings left in the tournament and will need to make the most of them if he hopes to be considered for the upcoming New Zealand Test series. With the Ranji Trophy season starting soon, this may be his last chance to prove his form before the squad is announced.