"Have You Seen...": Shreyas Iyer Fumes At Reporter Over Short Ball Question. Watch

It isn't often that one sees a cricketer losing cool at a reporter in a press conference but that is what happened when Shreyas Iyer was asked about his struggles against short-balls after India's Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Sri Lanka on Thursday. After his smashing 82 with the bat against the Lankans at the Wankhede Stadium, Iyer had to hit some 'short ball' questions in the presser for sixes too. When asked about his troubles against bouncers, Iyer was in no mood to play defensive and decided to issue a sharp retort to the reporter.

Here's how the conversation went:

Reporter: I wanted to ask, short ball has been a problem for you since the beginning of this World Cup and today we saw some great pull shots. How much are you prepared for the next match against South Africa because we know how good they are with the short balls.

Shreyas Iyer: When you say it's a problem for me what do you mean?

Reporter: Not a problem, problem exactly but it has troubled you.

Shreyas Iyer:Troubled me? Have you seen how many pull shots I've scored? Especially which has gone for four.

If you're trying to hit a ball, you're bound to get out anyway. Irrespective it's a short ball, it's an over pitch. If I get bowled two or three times, you all would say that, OK, he can't play an in-swinging ball. He can't play a cut if a ball is seeming.

So, see, we, as players are bound to get out on any sort of deliveries. You guys have created that environment outside that he can't play a short ball. And I feel that people are picking that up every now and then and it plays on your mind regularly and you keep working on that.

Coming from Mumbai, especially from Wankhede, where the bounce is pretty much even and it bounces way more than any