In T20s, it's a crime if you play a dot ball: Shreyas Iyer

IPL that he had to let go last year; back from injury and rehab that took away a good deal of time - Shreyas Iyer is once again marching to reclaim his space and identity. The batsman took time out to speak at length with TOI. Excerpts:Back in great form, back as IPL captain. Great start to the year?I wouldn't say the best start, but yes, a decent one. Why not great?I had a very bad stomach infection at the start of the year when we were in South Africa. I lost seven kilos there. Basically, whatever I was eating, it was coming out. It was one of the worst phases of my life.

Read AlsoIndia vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Shreyas Iyer cracks third successive fifty to help India complete another whitewash

The home side went into Sunday's affair with a batsman short, and lost skipper Rohit Sharma in the second over of the innings. The onus once again fell on Shreyas to anchor the chase. Iyer accepted the challenge wholeheartedly, slamming a 45-ball unbeaten 73, laced with nine hits to the fence and

Now, after this Sri Lanka series, do you see yourself getting back into that (New Zealand series) zone again?Yeah, it felt very good. The start, which I got, was really amazing. I told myself I am just going to play with full freedom because now we have such depth in our batting line-up that it gives us more freedom to go and express ourselves. Even if we are a few runs down, the intent has to be very positive. You're looking good at No.3. The confidence has been showing supremely…Well, it's a position where you can express yourself the best. But that aside, I'm really enjoying myself right now and feel good about my batting and thorough recovery. What do you do when you get to hear noises around you which are unnecessarily loud - look,