'Obviously he can't be replaced': Gavaskar has his say on Iyer's batting position in T20Is on Kohli, Suryakumar's return
Batting at No.3, Iyer scored 25 off 16 in the third T20I against West Indies and followed it up with a run tally of 204 runs against Sri Lanka, laced with three consecutive unbeaten half-century scores.
Shreyas Iyer's magnificent form in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka has created a bigger but happy selection headache for the team management for the T20 World Cup squad. And former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has had his say in Iyer's batting position in the team when Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav returns.
_1644858458115_(1)_1646021616543_1646021629492.jpg "Sunil Gavaskar; Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli")
Iyer managed to find a spot in the playing XI after Kohli was released from the bio-bubble by the selectors ahead of the third T20I match against West Indies. Batting at No.3, he scored 25 off 16 in that game and followed it up with a run tally of 204 runs against Sri Lanka, laced with three consecutive unbeaten half-century scores.
With Kohli's return, Iyer will have to shifted a spot down the order, but India also have Suryakumar Yadav, who had ended the West Indies T20I series as the Player of the Match award winner. So another spot below, but again, the team has Rishabh Pant. So where will Iyer fit in?
Admitting it to be a great problem to have, Gavaskar, in conversation with Star Sports, feels that Kohli remains irreplaceable and hence Iyer will have to slotted in at No.4 or 5 along with Suryakumar.
“It's a great problem to have. Obviously Virat Kohli can't be replaced. He will probably come in at No.3, there is no question about it. But then you can use somebody like a Shreyas Iyer at No.4 or 5. Suryakumar, the way he has been batting, he is got to be included. It is just the plus, plus as far as the team is concerned,” he said.
The legendary batter further added that with a “top-batting line-up”, India can afford to pick out-and-out bowlers and not bowlers who can bat.
“There are so many options. And it allows you to go in with pure bowlers and not bowlers who can bat. With a top-batting line-up, you can can go in with someone like Mohammed Siraj or Avesh Khan, who is not known as a batsman. You don't have to look for someone who can bat like Shardul Thakur or Deepak Chahar or Bhuvneshwar Kumar. You might think in terms of all-out attack,” he explained.
The T20I series will be followed by a two-Test series. India will have now T20I action for the next two months owing to the Indian Premier League, but will be hosting South Africa in June for a five-match T20I series.
