Former pacer Zaheer Khan has showered praise on Shreyas Iyer for his confident and resilient knock in the first ODI match of the England tour of India 2025.
His aggressive knock played a crucial role in India’s four-wicket win in Nagpur and setting a strong foundation for their Champions Trophy 2025.
After India lost both openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma early in their 248 runs chase. Joining a partnership with Shubman Gill, he forged a 94-run partnership to set a strong foundation for India’s victory.
Shubman Gill‘s 87 runs and Shreyas Iyer’s 59 runs have revived India’s innings and ensured a comfortable win. Speaking to Zaheer Khan lauded Shreyas for his self-confidence, highlighting how his approach could be vital for India’s plans in the ICC tournament.
“You talk about everything in that knock. The counterattack was just a brilliant inning to watch.”
“At that stage in the game, when the ball is hard, you have already lost two wickets, someone to walk in like that and with such confidence, and taking the attack to the opposition is something which worked really well.”
“Really set the tone for that run-chase because we’ve seen later on how the pitch was turning, how it became a little tricky towards the end.”
“By then, all the work was done. So Shubman and Shreyas’s partnership, and Shreyas has been that key component in that partnership,” Zaheer said.
Shreyas Iyer who recently lost his BCCI central contract for priortising personal fitness over domestic cricket, has been on a journey of redemption. With questions looming over his place in India’s ODI setup, his stunning knock has come in handy as a timely reminder of his potential.
His consistency deserved a spot in India’s 15 member Champions Trophy squad. India’s victory in the Nagpur ODIs marked a solid start for the Champions Trophy. India will be aiming to continue their momentum in the ongoing series, with the second match of the series will be played on February 09 at Barabati Stadium.
