'That's the only place you can pace the inning': Shreyas Iyer picks his ideal T20I batting spot after SL series heroics
Shreyas managed to find a spot in the T20I line-up after Kohli was given a bio-bubble rest by the selectors ahead of the third T20I against West Indies
Shreyas Iyer capped off a sensation T20I series against Sri Lanka at home, scoring a record 204 runs at a strike rate of 174, laced with three unbeaten half-centuries. But all his scores came batting at No.3, where former India captain Virat Kohli bats at, hence adding to a happy headache for the team management. And on Sunday, after India's third straight whitewash victory at home in T20Is, Shreyas revealed his ideal batting spot in the team is No.3 as he can pace the innings well from that position.
Shreyas managed to find a spot in the T20I line-up after Kohli was given a bio-bubble rest by the selectors ahead of the third T20I against West Indies. He scored 25 off 16 in that game and pulled off a hat-trick of unbeaten half-century scores against Sri Lanka to grab the Player of the series award.
"I'm not keeping any expectations from myself nor from the team coaches because if you see the competition in our team, it's immense. Every individual is capable of winning you games. Personally I want to enjoy each and every moment and opportunity, which I've been provided with. I like to finish off the games and that's like my mindset whenever I go onto the pitch," he said in the post-match conference.
When asked about his preferred batting position, given that India will have Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant returning for the next series, Iyer picked No.3.
"Obviously in this format, top-three is the only place where you can pace your innings pretty well. Otherwise if you bat down the order you can't give yourself time you need to start going from ball one.
"So yeah, if I had to say the best number to bat for me personally, it's obviously No. 3," he said.
The performance in the series has also put him closer to booking his seat in the flight to Australia for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, but Iyer remains unfazed with the competition in the team and rather prefers to "cherish" his good form.
"Personally, I want to cherish this moment, I've achieved really good totals in the series," Shreyas, who scored 204 runs at a strike rate of 174, said at the post-match media interaction on Sunday night.
"I want to relax a bit, give myself time and not think much beyond because it's something that if I start thinking from right on I won't be able to focus when I'll be playing on the ground. So I'm just staying in the moment now."
However, when directly asked about the World Cup selection, Iyer said: "I think it's way wrong to think about right now.
"I can't talk about cementing my place because as I mentioned earlier as well, the competition is so much.
"You need to be flexible in terms of batting in any position, or any given situation.
"So my mindset is just to, you know, grab as many opportunities as I can and see to it that I maximise the use of it."
