India D skipper Shreyas Iyer, who wore sunglasses while batting, did not cause any trouble for the scorers in the Duleep Trophy 2024. On Friday morning at Anantapur, he was removed by left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed due to his ongoing struggles with short deliveries.
In the first innings of India D’s Duleep Trophy second-round match against India A in Anantapur on Friday, September 13, veteran batsman Shreyas Iyer was dismissed for a seven-ball duck. The skipper of India D, Iyer, could only stay in the middle for seven deliveries before Khaleel Ahmed’s skill as a left-arm pacer destroyed him. After their opponents amassed 290 and claimed four early wickets in the opening session of Friday’s play, India D found themselves under pressure.
Shreyas Iyer had an unusual outing as the Mumbai batsman left the stadium with his sunglasses nestled under his helmet. Since India D required a seasoned player to hold the fort and keep them out of difficulty, a lot was expected of the captain. Khaleel Ahmed, on the other hand, unsettled Shreyas by peppering him with short deliveries before bowling a longer delivery that claimed his wicket.
Despite his efforts to improve his short ball defense, Shreyas Iyer was confined to the rear of the crease, unable to deliver a fuller delivery. Iyer drove the delivery, but Aaqib Khan caught him mid-stride.
Within the first three overs, India D lost their openers, Atharva Taide (4) and Shreyas Iyer (0). Aaqib Khan dismissed Yash Dubey for 14 in the 14th over, despite efforts by Devdutt Padikkal and Dubey to stabilize the innings. In red-ball cricket, Sanju Samson, who came in at number five, managed just five runs from six deliveries as his awful run persisted.
The only batter in the top five who scored more than 20 runs for India D was Devdutt Padikkal.
IYER IS STILL STRUGGLING
In India D’s loss to India C in the opening round of the Duleep Trophy 2024 last week at Anantapur, Iyer scored just 63 runs. In red-ball cricket, the middle-order batsman has been having trouble staying consistent. Earlier this year, following the first two Tests of a five-match series against England, he was dropped. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also refused to award Iyer a central contract earlier this year because he disregarded board secretary Jay Shah’s orders to participate in domestic competitions.
Iyer blamed chronic fitness concerns and a lack of communication for his removal from the central contract list.
After leading Kolkata Knight Riders to their first IPL championship in ten years, Iyer did, however, make a comeback to the national team in July during a three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka. With the bat, he was a letdown, scoring only 38 runs in three games.
Iyer was left off of India’s 15-man roster for the two-Test series that will begin in Chennai on September 19 against Bangladesh.
