Team India’s batsman, Shreyas Iyer, vehemently disputed the prevalent notion regarding his batting skills, particularly the alleged issue of facing short-pitched deliveries. After a stellar performance where he scored a brilliant 82 off 56 balls in India’s victory over Sri Lanka, Shreyas directly pointed fingers at the media for perpetuating the “he can’t handle short balls” narrative.
In the 33rd match of the 2023 World Cup, India dominated Sri Lanka, securing a massive 302-run win at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, November 2. Shreyas played a pivotal role by contributing a superb half-century to India’s total of 357/8 while batting first.
During a post-match press conference, Shreyas faced questions about his alleged difficulty with short-pitched deliveries. However, he flatly denied any such problem. When a journalist began his inquiry by stating, “The short ball has been a problem for you since the beginning of this World Cup…,” Shreyas interrupted and sought clarification: “When you say it’s a problem for me, what do you mean?”
The journalist then clarified that it wasn’t precisely a problem but had troubled him. In response, Shreyas continued to challenge the reporter’s assertion, stating:
Shreyas giving clarification on his purported weakness against short balls..
— Shawstopper (@shawstopper_100) November 2, 2023
#ShreyasIyer pic.twitter.com/5FQP5hhACk
“Troubled me? Have you seen how many pull shots I’ve executed, especially those resulting in fours? If you’re trying to hit a ball, you’re bound to get out anyway, regardless of whether it’s a short ball or an overpitched delivery.
If I get dismissed two or three times, you all would say, ‘he can’t play an in-swinging ball, he can’t play a cut if the ball is seaming.’ ‘We, as players, are susceptible to getting out to various types of deliveries. You folks have fostered an atmosphere outside that ‘he can’t play a short ball,’ and I believe that people pick up on it regularly, influenced by the media, and continue to dwell on that,” he added.