India vs England: Explosive Shreyas Iyer ‘exposes’ coach Gautam Gambhir

Politics, when will Indian cricket be spared of such atrocities! On Thursday night, just after India had emphatically defeated England in the first ODI in Nagpur, there were happy faces all around. That was till Shreyas Iyer spoke, after smoking a half-ton with his bat, which again brought into focus how classy a player he is.

Agreed, vice-captain Shubman Gill, promoted up the order to the No.3 position after Virat Kohli was out of the 11 due to a knee niggle was surprising. Gill was born for this format and his rich runs should have been converted into a ton. The good part, he is back in form.

Surprisingly, just after the match, one man who has been praised sky high, Shreyas Iyer, dropped a bombshell. His robust innings of 59 was studded with 9 fours and 2 sixes. He made batting look so easy and was in assault mode. It was good to see the man perpetually on trial come back and explode.

From Irfan Pathan to Sanjay Manjrekar, there was lavish praise for Shreyas, who is like the 'ugly duckling' and not wanted in Team India. Sure enough, Shreyas let the cat out of the bag when he said he was not even supposed to be in the Playing 11 had Kohli been fit.

For those who track media, social media and what all goes on behind the scenes and screens, Shreyas Iyer has been the proverbial 'unwanted child.' His talent and presence in ODI cricket has been phenomenal, dating back to the ICC World Cup at home in 2023. Since then, he has been scoring runs in first class, all formats and been stand-out.

Add to it his success as the IPL captain for KKR in the 2024 season, Shreyas has emerged as a superstar. He has ego and he great belief in his own cricket. And that is why he risked coming into the auction pool and was picked by the Punjab franchise for a princely sum as well for IPL 2025.

So, for someone who has been so good in the No.4 position, for Shreyas to say he was not even going to be picked in the 11 till it became clear Kohli had a knee issue has become sensational news.

What are the games being played, who all are the favourites, what is the lobby not backing Shreyas Iyer? It is clear coach Gautam Gambhir has been asserting himself in team selections forcefully.

There is plenty to suggest Gambhir is not a big fan of Shreyas. So, what does the Mumbaikar do, comes out smoking and shuts up one and all. This knock from Shreyas was worth gold. He came in when wickets had fallen early and he then hammered the daylights out of the English bowlers. Poor Jofra Archer, he looks club class, with Indian batters carting him for sixes.

Back to team selections, the process of experimentation is good. Play fresh guys and encourage talent. But to victimise Shreyas Iyer is unfair. If there is an agenda from the coach, it was always known.

Now that he has been indirectly called out, Gambhir needs to be roasted. You can have favourites in club cricket but do not mess with someone like Shreyas Iyer. It is bad luck he did not go on to lead India in at least one format. And that is why when KKR won the IPL title last year, far too much credit was usurped by Gambhir.

Hang on, thank Shreyas for the big knock as well as exposing the shenanigans in Team India. This is not on!