I feel I am one step away from making my international debut: Shreyas Iyer

22-year old Shreyas Iyer is currently playing the waiting game after putting up some impressive digits against his name. Iyer’s last few knocks read- 37, 90, 82, 108, 65, 31, 140*, the best part being the fact that all these runs have come against New Zealand A and South Africa A. Therefore, it is pretty obvious to nurture hopes of representing the country in the coming time, and Iyer is no different.

The batsman credited India A coach Rahul Dravid for injecting the calmness around him. Speaking to Cricketnext, Iyer said that Dravid taught him to be calm and not think about the things that are not in his hands. He has been quizzed on numerous occasions about not getting a call-up from the selectors but Iyer isn’t losing any sleep.

“Dravid Sir is an amazing personality. He is the reason behind all the success that the ‘A’ team has achieved in recent times. More than anything, it is his man-management skills that makes you want to sit and imbibe as much as you can. He has taught me the importance of keeping calm and not react. With time, I have realised that my job is to keep doing the basics right and the rest shall be taken care of. In fact, I feel like I am one step away from making my senior team debut,” he said.

I like doing my job: Iyer

Iyer was named as a replacement for skipper Virat Kohli for the Dharamshala Test match against Australia earlier this year. He didn’t get to make his debut but he believes that the right time will come. “I am not someone who believes in getting into other people’s space. I like doing my own job and the interactions that I have had with the members of the senior team has been more about trying to learn from them and not about my position in the pecking order,” he said.

Fitness is of prime importance: Iyer

“I think fitness is of prime importance and try and work on my own fitness whenever I am not playing out in the middle. I feel that with the rigours of international cricket at present, staying fit is very important if you wish to succeed in all the three formats. It always helps when you have a role model like skipper Kohli to look upto,” he added.