'Best experience of sledging' - Shreyas Iyer reveals how Matthew Wade, David Warner sledged him during a warm-up game

The Australian team has a notorious reputation of sledging oppositions and every player who has played against them is bound to have an interesting story about interaction on the field. Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer has revealed his story of getting sledged by the Australian players during a warm-up match back in early 2017. 

The incident is from the time when the Australian team was on a Test tour to India. Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Steve Smith-led Australia played an India A team at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in a three-day practice match. Iyer described that knock to have been the best experience of sledging in his life. 

He spoke about the incident in a conversation with the Grade Cricketers YouTube channel with Ian Higgins and Sam Perry. The two Australian interviewers asked him about his experience of batting against the Aussies. Before Iyer got into that, he also talked about the New Zealand team, who don’t sledge but sometimes there is a bit of banter involved. 

‘Trying to impress some IPL captains’, David Warner’s sledged Iyer 

“There was chirping. It was the best experience of sledging that I ever had. Because that started before I even had faced a single ball. I will tell you about the incident. I went on to the pitch when we lost two wickets I guess. Before facing the first ball, Matthew Wade from behind was like ‘I have a feeling that he is going to go for a big one from the first ball’,” Iyer said. 

Iyer came out to bat at no. 4 in that match. India A was being led by Hardik Pandya, while Iyer was just 22 years old then and making a name for himself in domestic cricket. “He (Wade) started talking and then David Warner also came up. I hit a six off Nathan Lyon off my first ball. I didn’t say anything. Thought I should be quiet. Wade said again ‘oh I was right he was going for a big one’,” Iyer said. 

The Mumbai player further revealed what Warner said to him. “He said ‘there are a few captains of the IPL teams and he is trying to show-off,’ the second ball I hit another four and then went on to make a double hundred,” Iyer concluded. The Mumbai batter ended up scoring an unbeaten 202 from just 210 balls, smashing 27 fours and 7 sixes.