Shreyas Iyer’s Test comeback stumbles with 8-ball duck in Ranji Trophy
Shreyas Iyer’s return to first-class cricket didn’t go as planned as the Mumbai batter was dismissed for an 8-ball duck in the Ranji Trophy match against Baroda. Iyer, who is aiming to make a comeback to the Indian Test side, struggled at the crease before being dismissed by Bhargav Bhatt, continuing his patch of poor form in red-ball cricket.
In Mumbai’s first innings, Iyer was the only batter to depart without scoring, a major blow to his hopes of catching the selectors’ eye for a Test recall. His disappointing start in the Ranji Trophy follows a series of sub-par performances in the Duleep Trophy, where he also failed to make a strong impact.
Iyer’s Recent First-Class Scores:
- MUM vs ROI (Irani Cup): 57 & 8
- IND D vs IND B (Duleep Trophy): 0 & 50
- IND vs IND A (Duleep Trophy): 0 & 41
- IND D vs IND C (Duleep Trophy): 9 & 54
- IND vs ENG (Test): 27 & 29
Once a promising middle-order option for India, Iyer now faces an uphill battle to regain his spot in the Test squad. He has reportedly fallen out of favor with the selectors, who have cited his poor shot selection and the presence of other viable candidates for the Test team.
Having already missed out on BCCI’s central contracts list and dropped from the Test side earlier this year, Iyer’s path back to the national team depends on his ability to deliver in the domestic circuit. As the Ranji season progresses, Iyer will need to turn his fortunes around quickly to stay in contention for a Test spot.