This star player can benefit from Virat Kohli’s retirement. (Photo: pti)
For the last few days, the discussion of Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket is in full swing. According to media reports, he has said goodbye to this format and has given information about his decision to BCCI. But the board is engaged in persuading him for the tour of England, because Team India may have to bear the loss of their departure. In the absence of Kohli, the middle order can weaken. However, Kohli’s retirement can be a major setback for the Indian team. But there is a star player whose luck will open with Kohli’s retirement. We are talking about Shreyas Iyer. According to media reports, if Kohli does not change his decision, then BCCI can give his number-4 position to Iyer.
Iyer did not get a chance on England tour
Actually, the Indian team will tour England for the 5 -match Test series in June. But before that, India A team will leave for 2 matches against England Lions, which will start from May 30. According to the report of Cricbuzz, the squad has been selected for this. The BCCI can also announce this on 13 May. Abhimanyu Ishwaran has been made the captain of the team.
Apart from Ishwaran, the initial team includes players like Tanush Kotian, Baba Indrajit, Akash Deep, Karun Nair. At the same time, Dhruv Jurael and Nitish Reddy will initially be part of the A team and later they will be included in the senior team. On the other hand, Karun Nair has also got the result of a great performance in domestic cricket. According to the report, later this month, he will also go on a tour of England with India A team.
Apart from this, Shardul Thakur’s joining the senior team is believed to be certain. But in this squad, Shreyas Iyer and Ishaan Kishan have not been given a place. Explain that citing discipline, the BCCI had taken away the central contract from both the players. From then on, both the players were walking out of the team. However, this year both have been again made part of the Central Contract. At the same time, Iyer has also returned to the ODI team. But his return to the Test has not yet been made.
Iyer’s future resting on Kohli
The report claimed that Shreyas Iyer’s selection is not sure. He is currently not under the plan of selectors for India A or India team. But on Virat Kohli’s retirement, the BCCI can consider making him a part of the team. Like Kohli, he has also been playing on number-4. But Iyer has not played any test for more than 15 months. That is, Iyer’s future rests on Kohli’s decision.
Iyer has a great record on number-4 position in ODIs. But he has not been able to impress so much in the Test yet. His experience in this format is also less. Iyer has played only 14 Test matches so far, scoring 811 runs at an average of around 37. During this, he has also scored 5 centuries and 1 century. But it has been about 15 months since he played Test matches. Iyer played his last Test match against England in Visakhapatnam in February 2024.