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After back-to-back sloppy performances, Indian batter Shreyas Iyer has seemingly regained his form as the latter played a thumping knock of 82 runs against Sri Lanka in Match 33 of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
Alongside Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, Iyer’s knock was pivotal in anchoring India to a mammoth total of 357 runs. The bowlers then took charge for the Men in Blue, dismantling the Lankans on just 55 runs, ultimately sealing a monstrous 302-run victory for the hosts.
Following India’s spectacular performance, Iyer addressed the media persons in the post-match press conference. However, the right-handed batter lost his cool when questioned about his struggles with the short ball.
Journalist’s mocking question
During the press conference, a journalist questioned Iyer about his ability to handle short-pitched deliveries, noting his improvement in playing pull shots and further inquired about his preparedness for the upcoming match against South Africa, who are known for their proficiency in bowling short deliveries.
“I wanted to ask, short ball has been a problem for you since the beginning of this World Cup, and today we saw some great pull shots. How much are you prepared for the next match against South Africa? Because we know how good they are with the short balls.” asked the journalist.
However, Iyer was in no mood to spare the correspondent and hammered him for the question.
Shreyas Iyer’s furious reply
Iyer defended his ability to handle short deliveries, highlighting his success with pull shots resulting in boundaries. The 28-year-old expressed the belief that as a cricketer, one can get out to any delivery, whether it’s a short ball or an over-pitched one.
“Troubled me? Have you seen how many pull shots I’ve scored? Especially which has gone for four. If you’re trying to hit a ball, you’re bound to get out anyway. Irrespective it’s a short ball, it’s an over pitch. If I get bowled two or three times, you all would say that, OK, he can’t play an in-swinging ball. He can’t play a cut if a ball is seeming. So, see, we, as players are bound to get out on any sort of deliveries.” Iyer said in his response.
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The Chembur-born cricketer also noted the external pressure created by media narratives around his ability to handle short deliveries, which affects the players’ mindset and encourages them to work on addressing such concerns.
“You guys have created that environment outside that he can’t play a short ball. And I feel that people are picking that up every now and then and it plays on your mind regularly and you keep working on that.” Iyer added.
