Shreyas Iyer at four would allow Rishabh Pant to play natural game, feels Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan reckons that sending in Shreyas Iyer at number four to build the innings up will help pave the way for Rishabh Pant to bat in his typical aggressive manner when he comes in. He further said Iyer’s performance will help him to be promoted to No.4 as per the team’s tendency over the years.
Coming back into the team after a few odd performances in the past, youngster Shreyas Iyer put on a show for the Men in Blue to score an impressive looking 71 that played a big role in earning his team the victory. His knock came at a rate of just over a run every ball and was laced with five fours and a six.
Initially having been expected to come in at number four, his preferred slot, it was wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant who was sent in before him, with Iyer having to settle with the number five spot.
“Virat at the toss had already said that there is some flexibility regarding the number four spot. And it has been a trend of the past couple of years, if someone has played a good innings at a different number, he has been promoted. So Shreyas Iyer I think will naturally get that promotion to the number four position which will work better for Rishabh Pant in due course,” Zaheer Khan said in a post-match podcast for Cricbuzz.
Pant’s performances have so far been underwhelming and his future as India’s new number four looks a bit bleak. The 21-year-old is known for hitting the ball hard and going after the bowlers, something which he has been restricted from doing in his new spot. With KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and Vijay Shankar also having failed to impress much in that slot, Iyer might as well be handed the responsibility of playing the all-important role.Â
“In T20 formats, you have seen the kind of power he has. His impact comes with that power and if he is batting at number five, it kind of helps in a natural scenario, of a T20 simulation of sorts. At that stage with 15-16 overs to go or 20 overs to go, he can have that natural instinct going. You’ve seen Rishabh Pant when he was looking to build that innings, he was looking a bit confused of sorts. He likes to be aggressive but because he is in that situation he is trying to prove otherwise. He is moving away from his natural style of play and looking to collect those singles, doubles,” Khan concluded his views on the matter.
