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Duleep Trophy 2024: India D captain Shreyas Iyer, who wore sunglasses while batting, failed to trouble the scorers. His troubles against the short deliveries continued as left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed dismissed him on Friday morning in Anantapur.
In the Duleep Trophy second-round match against India A in Anantapur on Friday, September 13, experienced campaigner Shreyas Iyer had a disappointing outing, falling for a duck on just his seventh delivery. As captain of India D, Iyer was expected to anchor the innings and lead from the front, but left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed had other plans. Ahmed exceptional bowling put India D on the back foot after their opponents had set a formidable target of 290.
The highlight of Iyer innings was his unusual choice of wearing sunglasses tucked inside his helmet. Despite this quirky choice, Iyer performance was underwhelming. He faced a barrage of short deliveries from Ahmed and although he managed to evade them, he was eventually undone by a fuller delivery. Iyer attempted a drive but was caught at mid-on by Aaqib Khan.
India D’s troubles began early as they lost opener Atharva Taide for just 4 runs and Iyer for a duck within the first three overs. Yash Dubey and Devdutt Padikkal tried to stabilize the innings, but Dubey was dismissed for 14 in the 14th over by Khan. Sanju Samson, batting at No. 5, struggled to make an impact, scoring just 5 from 6 balls, continuing his poor form in red-ball cricket.
Among the top five, Devdutt Padikkal was the sole batter to surpass the 20-run mark, providing a glimmer of resistance amid the batting collapse of India D.
Duleep Trophy: Iyer Continuous to Struggle
Shreyas Iyer recent performances have been underwhelming, highlighting ongoing struggles with consistency in red-ball cricket. Last week, in the Duleep Trophy 2024 first round, Iyer managed only 63 runs in India D’s defeat to India C. His recent form has been a concern, as he was dropped after the first two Tests of the five-match series against England earlier this year. Additionally, he was not offered a central contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to his failure to participate in domestic tournaments, despite directives from board secretary Jay Shah. Iyer cited communication issues and ongoing fitness problems as reasons for this exclusion.
Despite leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their first IPL title in a decade, Iyer return to the national team in a July ODI series against Sri Lanka was disappointing, with just 38 runs in three matches. He has also be a omitted from India 15-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh, starting September 19 in Chennai.
Shreyas Iyer breaks silence on BCCI contract snub: Winning IPL apt answer to whatever happened
Shreyas Iyer, the star India batter and IPL-winning captain, has finally addressed the issues that led to his exclusion from the BCCI central contract list. In a recent video, Iyer spoke candidly about how a lack of communication and ongoing fitness problems affected his place in the Indian team and his central contract status. Despite these setbacks, Iyer made a remarkable comeback, leading Mumbai to victory in the Ranji Trophy and steering Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title in a nearly flawless campaign.
In his video, released on Friday evening, Iyer reflected on his recent break, emphasizing how miscommunication and decisions not in his favor impacted his career. Although he didn’t explicitly name the BCCI contract snub, it was clear that this was a point of frustration for him. Iyer explained his decision to take a break post-World Cup to focus on his fitness, stating, “I had a terrific World Cup and wanted to use the break to work on my body and build strength in specific areas. Due to a lack of communication, some decisions didn’t go my way.
Determined to let his performances speak for themselves, Iyer used his bat to answer his critics. At the end of the day, the bat is always in my hand and it’s up to me to perform and win trophies. I believed that winning the Ranji Trophy and the IPL would be the perfect response to past setbacks. Thankfully, everything fell into place and we have more trophies to aim for in the future,” he concluded.
SHREYAS IYER FITNESS ISSUES
Shreyas Iyer fitness issues began in March of last year when he suffered a back injury. Despite this setback, he made a remarkable recovery, playing in the Asia Cup in September and subsequently in the ODI World Cup. During the World Cup, Iyer delivered an outstanding performance, becoming India third-highest run-scorer with 530 runs, including two centuries and three half-centuries and helping India to a runner-up finish.
After the World Cup, Iyer was selected for the Test series against South Africa. his performance in the two Tests was lackluster and he also made his first Ranji Trophy appearance since the 2018-19 season later that month. Although named in the squad for the home Test series against England, he was dropped after the first two Tests due to back spasms. Despite being medically cleared, Iyer chose to skip Ranji Trophy matches, citing ongoing back issues, a decision that did not sit well with the BCCI. This led to his exclusion from the central contract list for the 2024-25 season.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the omission of Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the central contract list was solely the decision of the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar. Shah emphasized, “You can check the constitution. I am just the convener of the selection meeting. The decision lies with Ajit Agarkar. My role is to implement the decisions and we have brought in new players like Sanju Samson. Nobody is indispensable,” he said during a media interaction at the BCCI head office.
BCCI Terminates Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer Contracts, announces full list
Shreyas Iyer fitness issues began in March of last year when he suffered a back injury. Despite this setback, he made a remarkable recovery, playing in the Asia Cup in September and subsequently in the ODI World Cup. During the World Cup, Iyer delivered an outstanding performance, becoming India third-highest run-scorer with 530 runs, including two centuries and three half-centuries and helping India to a runner-up finish.
After the World Cup, Iyer was selected for the Test series against South Africa. his performance in the two Tests was lackluster and he also made his first Ranji Trophy appearance since the 2018-19 season later that month. Although named in the squad for the home Test series against England. he was dropped after the first two Tests due to back spasms. Despite being medically cleared, Iyer chose to skip Ranji Trophy matches, citing ongoing back issues, a decision that did not sit well with the BCCI. This led to his exclusion from the central contract list for the 2024-25 season.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah clarified that the omission of Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the central contract list was solely the decision of the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar. Shah emphasized, “You can check the constitution. I am just the convener of the selection meeting. The decision lies with Ajit Agarkar. My role is to implement the decisions and we have brought in new players like Sanju Samson. Nobody is indispensable,” he said to during a media interaction at the BCCI head office.
