Team India`s middle-order batsman, Shreyas Iyer, has been named as Shubman Gill`s deputy for the upcoming ODI series against Australia.
The “Men in Blue” will lock horns against the Aussies for the three-match ODI series, with the first game scheduled to be played on October 19 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Earlier, Iyer was released from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contract, and since then, he has made a phenomenal comeback in the Indian team.
Speaking about his comeback during the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai, Iyer said that it was a “rollercoaster ride” and things looked “in shambles and helter skelter”.
The right-hander then revealed that scoring runs in the domestic tournament helped him boost his confidence before heading into the Champions Trophy 2025.
“But I told myself to set a routine, discipline myself and play domestic cricket. I went back to my time in Mumbai, played the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I performed in all these tournaments, and they helped me boost my momentum and confidence heading into CT. Then I was lucky to have played in ODIs against England and stamp my authority there (scoring 181 runs in three matches with two fifties at an average of over 60 and a strike rate of over 123),” said the 30-year-old cricketer.
Further, speaking more about the Champions Trophy campaign, Iyer said that he loved charging against bowlers while being under pressure. The right-hander also said that considering the likes of players back then gave enough confidence to chase or defend any total.
“During the CT, I was in a position where I had to play ball to ball in the start and then put myself in pressure and charge against bowlers. We thought in Dubai, 250-300 was a winnable total. My job was to take the team to that total, and then after that, let us see what happens. Looking at the line-up, our bowlers, we had immense confidence that we would be able to defend. We were also confident of chasing,” said the Mumbai-born cricketer.
The first ODI between India and Australia will be played in Perth on October 19, while the second and third matches will be held on October 23 (Adelaide) and October 25 (Sydney), respectively.
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
(With ANI Inputs)