Pragyan Ojha asks Shreyas Iyer to go back and score runs in domestic cricket

It has not been quite an impressive outing for Shreyas Iyer in Test cricket in recent times. Iyer has not been able to breach the 50-run mark in his last 13 Test innings. His last Test half-century came against Bangladesh in December 2022. Iyer scored his last Test century on his debut appearance against New Zealand in November 2021.

With big names like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja out of the second Test against England, Iyer was expected to lead the Indian middle order in Visakhapatnam. But he could manage to score 27 and 29 in the second Test against the Ben Stokes-led side. Needless to say, Iyer’s poor string of performances has now resulted in many asking the middle order batter to be dropped from the playing XI.

Former India cricketer Pragyan Ojha has now stated that Iyer should make way for Kohli and also advised him to return to domestic cricket in order to regain his form. Ojha felt that Kohli and Rahul will be two automatic choices if they returned to the Team India squad for the remaining matches of the Test series against England.

“Shreyas Iyer was left slightly behind. When you talk about great batters like Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul has also scored runs, when they return, they will automatically be part of the XI. So probably Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar will have to make way because the situation is like that,” Ojha said during a discussion on Colors Cineplex.

“It’s not that you don’t want to give opportunities, but when great batters are coming and you don’t have that much room, you cannot give them the cushion. So go back and score runs in domestic cricket,” the ex-India spinner added.

While Rahul and Jadeja missed the second Test due to injury issues, Kohli was not part of the first two games because of personal reasons. There is still no official word on Kohli’s potential return to the squad and according to multiple reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to make a crucial decision on the former India skipper’s inclusion. The BCCI is also understood to be set to decide on the participation of injured all-rounder Jadeja and pacer Mohammad Shami.