Emerging Player Of The Month: Shreyas Iyer

Image // IndianExpress

In a nation where cricket is not just a sport but a religion and where every youngster aspires to become the next “Sachin Tendulkar” there are very few lucky ones who are exposed to this glamour at a young age. They put all sweat and blood to be in the limelight and be able to share the dugout with living legends. India is blessed to have such young talent displaying their excellence from the very beginning.

One such feather in the cap for our nation is the 20 year old Mumbai lad Shreyas Iyer. Iyer has been  the talk of town right from day one, he was spotted by coach Pravin Amre at Shivaji Park when the 12 year old was seen showing off his batting skills. Orginally from Tamil Nadu, Shreyas was nurtured early in his career by Amre. 

Shreyas Iyer was first noticed when was chosen to represent India in the Under 19 World Cup held in 2014. He guided India to victory in several games in the World Cup and was instrumental for making his nation enter the quarter finals.

The 20 year old right handed batsmen and leg-break googly bowler has been of great value for his team and has always ensured that he makes his team cross the victory line, whether he plays for India or Mumbai or his IPL team Delhi Daredevils.

He made his first class debut for Mumbai during the esteemed Ranji Trophy in 2014 and his debut ton (153) came against Bengal in Kolkata, and his knock was the sole reason Mumbai could survive the blow given by their opponents.

Mumbai’s rising star proved his mettle time and again by pulling his team out of tribulation. Recently Iyer hit the third fastest double century against Punjab in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. Shreyas’ innings is the second fastest in the tournament’s 82-year history. The only ones quicker to him were Ravi Shastri (123 balls) and Rajesh Borah (156 balls)

He even smashed his third ton of the season, recently in the game against Uttar Pradesh and shared a wonderful partnership with Rohit Sharma who too scored a century. Iyer smashed 5 sixes and 14 fours in his 110 run knock that lasted for over three hours and this young Mumbaikar has been blossoming this season.

He scored 173 against Baroda and 200 against Punjab and not to forget his magnificent 83 against Tamil Nadu in the infancy of the Ranji Trophy.

Although a bit irreverent in his strokeplay at times, Shreyas has the hunger to dominate bowlers and score big. He has the insatiable hunger for runs that Mumbai batsmen over the decades are well known for.

It isn’t only about getting those runs, but also about imposing one’s dominance on the game. Shreyas embodies those characteristics in his strokeplay in the manner he shapes late to essay certain strokes even if he is committed to play another stroke in mind.

Image// Mid-day

Shreyas Iyer was the frontrunner to win the Rising Star Award in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015. The 20-year-old batsman had played with a dash of fearlessness and has been one of the few bright spots for Delhi Daredevils in what was a very disappointing season earlier this year.

During mid IPL 2015, Shreyas was fifth in the list of the leading run-scorers. In 13 matches, he had smashed 413 runs at an average of 34.91 with four fifties. More importantly, he had got them at a good strike-rate of 129.32. Only six players have scored over 400 runs this season.

Shreyas found himself in the league of David Warner, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Brendon McCullum and AB deVilliers— some of the best batsmen in world cricket. For a youngster, to find himself alongside such names in his maiden season is truly remarkable.

Image // Mid-Day

The India A outings at home against Australia A, South Africa A and Bangladesh A, put the brakes on Iyer's ride and gave him a reality check and making him work al the more harder.

Not once in his six innings in the four unofficial Tests did Iyer pass 50, getting out twice on 49. But once he did eventually bring up a half-century, against Punjab on the first day, Iyer was at ease. "It was really important for me to cross 50, which happened ..... and I was quite relaxed after that," he said.

"Visualisation is the only thing I added [to my game]," he said. "I imagined that I am going to the ground, I am taking strike, which all bowlers I might be facing. I knew that these are the four bowlers they might be playing, so I visualised accordingly.”

With the zeal, enthusiasm and hard work that Shreyas is putting in his game and seeing his wonderful knocks lately it wouldn’t be surprising if you open the newspaper and find that he has been selected for the senior team.

With the World T20 on cards early next year it would be interesting to see how the selectors balance the side with experienced seniors and super talented youngsters.

Nevertheless, India have unearthed a gem in Shreyas Iyer.