'Got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats' - Ricky Ponting after Shreyas Iyer's Nagpur blitz

Shreyas Iyer was back in the Indian squad with a bang with an energetic 36-ball 59-run knock in the first ODI of the three-match series against England yesterday. Coming in at No. 4 after the dismissal of the opening batters, he held firm and played with unbridled aggression to take the attack to the English bowling unit while batting along with Shubman Gill.

Former Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting, expressed disbelief that a batter of Iyer's caliber was not a regular feature of the national unit after his 530-run World Cup 2023 campaign. He also went on to commend Iyer's run in the domestic circuit in the recent past.     

"I've been a little bit surprised that he's been out of India's side the last couple of years. He had a terrific World Cup back in India where he played beautifully in the middle-order and I actually felt then that he'd almost cemented that spot and made that his own. Then, he had those couple of injuries, obviously injured his back and went out of the side, but his domestic season this year has been brilliant. It sort of coincided with what he's done since around (IPL) auction time going forward in domestic cricket, he has been pretty much outstanding," shared Ponting in the latest edition of The ICC Review. 

I'm delighted to see him back in their team: Ponting

Ponting, who head coached 55 games for Delhi Capitals while Iyer was a part of the XI of the franchise from when both of them were at the franchise, elaborated on how good of a batter Iyer was against spin in the limited-overs format.

"He's got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world. On those wickets - the slower, lower wickets - he's dynamic on those. We know how good a hitter of spin-bowling he is and teams tend not to bowl a lot of spin at India, but at some stage it's going to come. If Shreyas is out in the middle, then he's as good as anyone. So, I'm delighted to see him back in their team," added Ponting.

Also Read: 'How could you bench him?' - Aakash Chopra bemused with India's selection ideology after Shreyas Iyer's late call-up revelation

Iyer returned to India's 50-over side on the back of several commendable outings in the previous editions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He is also a part of the nation's 15-member roster for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy.