The ongoing Duleep Trophy is bringing out the some thrilling red-ball action with the participation of many big names of India’s senior men’s cricket team. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer are some of the senior players who featured in the first round match of the Duleep Trophy. While some players have left for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, Iyer, who is the captain of India D, did not find a place in India’s Test squad and is currently playing the second round match against India A. However, this domestic series did not go as planned for Iyer.
The 29-year-old batter had a shaky start to his Duleep Trophy campaign. In the first match against India C, Iyer scored 9 and 54 while in the second game, he got out for a seven-ball-duck.
Iyer, who was axed from the BCCI’s central contract list, is eyeing a perfect opportunity to make a comeback in India’s Test side. However, former Pakistan batter Basit Ali slammed the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper for his lack of intent towards red-ball cricket.
Basit stated that Iyer is lucky because the India veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are not playing the Duleep Trophy.
“As a cricketer, it saddens me to see him. If you are getting out in front, your concentration isn’t in the game. And especially the red-ball game. He has scored two centuries in the World Cup, he’s an IPL-winning captain, he should’ve scored 100-200 runs here. Iyer is so lucky that Rahane and Pujara aren’t playing in Duleep Trophy,” said Basit on his YouTube channel.
“Iyer doesn’t have the hunger for red-ball cricket anymore. He’s only hungry for boundaries. You should prioritise it. If he’s thinking he is similar to Virat Kohli after hitting two centuries in World Cup, no, it doesn’t happen that way. I’m sorry to Indians who like him, but if I was India’s selector, Iyer wouldn’t have been in the Duleep Trophy at all. He’s not respecting the game,” he added.
The first Test between India and Bangladesh will kick-start from September 19 in Chennai.
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