Social media seems sure that the non-selection of Shreyas Iyer in India’s Test squad for England is nothing short of a crime. A list of his solid performances is going around. He aced the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Champions Trophy, and now the Indian Premier League (IPL). Undoubtedly, it’s been a great 9 months for Shreyas.
Format mixing
No one can deny that he’s been a standout performer. But notice how four of these five tournaments are white ball? Everyone seems to be including Shreyas’ success in the shorter format with the longest and most difficult format.
It’s clear that recency bias is coming to the forefront. That shouldn’t happen. Shreyas scoring runs in IPL and taking Punjab Kings to the playoffs after 10 years should have no bearing on his selection for a Test series in England.
Holes in Ranji Trophy record
Shreyas did well in the Ranji Trophy. 480 runs at 68.57 is great. That too in just 7 innings. A double hundred as well. But a deeper look would reveal that Shreyas’ record has some holes. His 2 hundreds (142 and 233) against slightly weaker teams like Maharashtra and Odisha. If we remove these two scores, Shreyas scored just 105 runs in 5 innings.
This shows that against the better opposition, Shreyas’ record hasn’t been that great. And we’re talking about the Ranji Trophy. Yes, the level is high, but nowhere near Test cricket. But there are more reasons why he was overlooked.
Short ball & technique
We know Shreyas has addressed his short-ball issues. But we have only seen him play in Dubai and India since he’s come back. His first overseas test is yet to come. But the selectors were still not 100% sure about his red-ball prowess. They are sold on his ability to tackle the swinging ball in England or his tendency to play at the ball, which is criminal in England and Test cricket in general.
Competition
All of this is enough, but then you factor in that he’s good competition as well. Karun Nair, who scored 863 runs, has been selected. Sarfaraz Khan, who was part of the squad in Australia, isn’t even picked. How does Shreyas somehow leapfrog them?
“Shreyas had a good one-day series and played well in domestic as well, but right now there’s no room in Test cricket.” This is what Agarkar said about Shreyas’ exclusion, and it’s 100% right. His time will surely come, but not right now.
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