Labelled 'silent hero' of India's ICC Champions Trophy triumph, Shreyas Iyer was crucial to India's success in Dubai. Despite there being a debate over his place in the team, with certain actions by the management suggesting that he wasn't a certainty at the No. 4 spot heading into the Champions Trophy, Iyer let his bat do the talking and contributed heavily towards the team's success. It's strange to see that a player of Iyer's caliber isn't a part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contract. But, he doesn't feel it's important for him to personally send a message.
Iyer finished the Champions Trophy campaign as India's highest run-scorer, with 243 runs to his name, only behind Rachin Ravindra who scored 263. Iyer might have failed to get a hundred in the tournament but he was quite satisfied with his performance.
"Very, very satisfying. Maybe I could have got a century, but no regrets. In fact, it was sweeter because I got the team to a decent total, and we were able to win by 44 runs," he said in a chat with Hindustan Times.
Iyer has often been labelled as a player who doesn't play the short deliveries well. But, he proved those doubters wrong in the Champions Trophy. When asked about the confidence he gained by dispatching England's Jofra Archer's bouncers in the bilateral ODI series, Iyer said that he had practice such shots in domestic cricket too.
"In terms of the confidence, yes. But you look at my domestic season, I played so many this year and hit sixes off difficult deliveries. I gained a lot of confidence from that. Technically, I was able to get a wide stance and create a great base, which enabled me to generate that force. I was able to replicate that in the England (home) series and
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