Top News

Shreyas Iyer has been the last minute addition to the squad as Tilak Varma was ousted from the India vs New Zealand T20I series due to his injury.

Visakhapatnam, January 28: Former Indian cricketer and presenter Aakash Chopra has come out in support of Shreyas Iyer after the Mumbai batter fails to find his spot in Playing eleven in the IND Vs NZ 4th T20I in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. He questioned the team management's decisions and said that Iyer's inclusion in the team would not have caused any harm.

Aakash Chopra also pointed out that Team India entered the game with one batter short. He shared a post on social media platform X and said, "Playing Shreyas Iyer wouldn’t have harmed anyone…instead going in a batter short. Also, batting first to challenge the bowlers in the second innings (dew expected) wouldn’t have been a bad idea either… #IndvNZ."

Shreyas Iyer has been the last minute addition to the squad as Tilak Varma was ousted from the India vs New Zealand T20I series due to his injury. Shreyas Iyer might not be able to find a chance to prove his importance as he may also miss a chance to make it to the playing in the final T20I game against New Zealand in Trivandrum.

The sports presenter stated in his post that India missed a tactical opportunity by choosing to bowl first. He also added that batting first to put pressure on the bowlers in the second innings with dew expected could have been a better option.

Batting first, New Zealand set a target of 216 runs in their 20 overs. Chasing their highest ever target, India lost two early wickets as their in-form batsman Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, who recently found his form, got out for a Golden Duck and 8 respectively.

India are 13/2 in 2.2 overs and out of form batsman Sanju Samson has high expectations from the fans as it is like a do or die situation for the Indian wicket-keeper batsman. His today's innings might impact his chances to make it to the playing eleven in the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.