India’s goal in the home ground World Cup is to win the championship, and they are making remarkable progress towards that goal. Led by Rohit Sharma, the Indian team has won all six of their matches and secured a spot in the semi-finals. In the first five matches, they won with convincing run margins. However, in the latest match against England, India managed to win while batting first, albeit with a relatively modest score of 229 runs.
This performance suggests that India’s batting lineup, as well as their bowlers, is in excellent form, and the team appears to have no weaknesses. However, former Pakistan captains Wasim Akram and Misbah-ul-Haq see a potential vulnerability in the Indian team.
What is this vulnerability? Despite the presence of strong batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Lokesh Rahul, there is one player who has not been performing well, and that is Shreyas Iyer. According to Akram and Misbah, Iyer is the only weakness in the Indian team.
In this World Cup, Shreyas Iyer has played six matches for India and has batted at number four. He has averaged 33.5 and scored a total of 134 runs in those six matches, with scores of 0, 25, 53, 19, 33, and 4. His inconsistency with the bat has raised concerns, and both Akram and Misbah believe that it’s the only weak link in the Indian team.
Akram went on to say, “If he (Iyer) performs, Hardik Pandya will return. Right from the first day, I have felt that they are a bit late in sending Iyer to bat at number four. He should bat at number four. If Hardik returns, Suryakumar Yadav will bat at number six, and Jadeja at number seven. Then, it will be difficult for him (Iyer) to find a place in the playing eleven.”
Misbah added, “He (Iyer) has scored runs. He scored a century against Australia, which is considered a tough opponent. But when you look at his average against fast bowling, it’s between 19 to 20. He struggles against short-pitched deliveries. Every team will exploit his weakness when it’s exposed.”
Wasim Akram concluded, “He has to perform because Ishan Kishan is sitting on the bench, and he’s a left-hander. His performance in the first match of the Asia Cup is a prime example. He has formed a good partnership with Hardik Pandya. He can bat in the middle order.”
So, despite India’s strong overall performance, the performance of Shreyas Iyer remains a point of concern, and the team’s former captains believe that it could be their only weakness.
