Iyer's selection call exposes loose ends in ODI strategy

Any tweak in the top order for left-right combination cannot come at the expense of an in-form player

- Rasesh Mandani

One man's misfortune is another man's opportunity and nowhere is this more apparent than in sport. When Virat Kohli was ruled out of the first ODI against England on Thursday, Shreyas Iyer grabbed the chance and hit a brilliant, attacking 59 to turn the match in India's favour.

When Iyer was laid low by back spasms in the 2023 Asia Cup, KL Rahul capitalised on the lucky break and never looked back. The right-hander from Mumbai could not win his spot back in the tournament. But Kohli, when he regains fitness, is sure to walk back into the 11. There are various layers to this discussion and this is just the beginning.

It does mean that the team has options and these days they tend to call it a happy headache. However, should Iyer's name should have been on the chopping block in the first place? Would dropping him be the right call? Would benching an in-form batter in favour of an out-of-form senior be the way to go?

Dropped from other formats, Iyer played domestic cricket across formats and scored consistently. He averaged 325 over five matches and stayed unbeaten in four Vijay Hazare (one-day) matches, scored at a strike rate of 188 across nine Mushtaq Ali T20s and averaged 68.57 in five Ranji Trophy games.

His only failures were in the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka last year where the entire Indian line-up, barring twin fifties from Rohit Sharma, failed to click.