Shreyas Iyer, the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has spoken out about his hardships following a great ODI World Cup with the Indian squad as their No. 4. Iyer was axed from the red-ball side after a succession of poor performances in Test series against South Africa and England.
There were also allegations that Shreyas Iyer complained of groin injury and informed his home team Mumbai that he would be unable to participate in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. That didn’t go down well with the board, since Iyer was ignored in the most recent round of central contracts.
However, Shreyas Iyer is in a much better position now that his club is on the verge of winning their third IPL title. Shreyas told media before of the final versus SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH):
“I was struggling after the World Cup in the longer format. When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it. But at the same time, the competition is with myself.
“When IPL was approaching, all I wanted was to see to it that I put in my best foot forward and whatever planning and strategizing we did before it, if we could execute it to the best of our ability, we would have been a great spot and that’s where we are now.”
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer has scored 345 runs in 13 IPL 2024 matches, with a strike rate of 146.19 and two half-centuries. He stayed undefeated on 58* against SRH, leading his team to the final after winning Qualifier 1.
Shreyas Iyer on Gautam Gambhir’s impact on KKR
Gautam Gambhir returned as the team’s consultant ahead of the IPL 2024 season, and many think the former KKR captain’s approach and skill were key factors in Kolkata reaching the final.
Shreyas Iyer explained how Gambhir’s techniques have helped KKR reach their full potential, stating:
“I feel he (Gambhir) has immense knowledge about how the game has played, he has won two titles with KKR and his strategies have been spot on in terms of what execution we have to make. He adds a lot of cream in the team. Hopefully, we continue with the same momentum in the final as well with his knowledge being put out there.”
Shreyas Iyer
Gautam Gambhir guided KKR to two IPL victories in 2012 and 2014, the first coming at Chepauk, where Kolkata might replicate their achievement from 12 years ago on Sunday (May 26).
