Kevin Pietersen advises Shreyas Iyer to spend more time in nets after two failures against West Indies

India middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer made a comeback to the national team after some time in August this year and made a crucial 62 off 33 balls in the third T20I against Bangladesh in Nagpur recently. The 25-year-old, however, has failed to score in the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies which is tied 1-1 at the moment with the decider to be held in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Iyer managed only 10 runs off 11 balls in the second game in Thiruvananthapuram and former England captain Kevin Pietersen has given him some tips to improve his game ahead of the crunch third match.

According to Pietersen, Iyer, who recently turned 25, should focus on the offside more often. He said the Indian batsman needs to work more in the nets to master the art of hitting the ball at the extra cover region. Iyer is being seen as an answer to India’s middle-order woes post the World Cup and he has to show consistency in his role.

Kevin Pietersen’s tips for Iyer

“Shreyas Iyer needs to focus more on his off-side batting and he needs to spend more time on the nets, get more practice to hit at extra cover, take his left pad off and focus on hitting through the line on the off-side,” Pietersen, 39, was quoted a saying by Timesnownews.com ahead of the Mumbai match.

“There are drills which you need to practise as a youngster and this will help him as the bowler will then eventually not bowl to him outside the off stump. He will then be able to play a lot straighter which will be a lot more comfortable for him,” he said.

Iyer got out to a joint effort from Brandon King and Hayden Walsh at a crucial moment in the second T20I that saw India’s scoring pace getting slowed down. In the first match, too, he fell for four off six balls to West Indies captain Kieron Pollard when India were approaching home. The hosts will need their middle-order to deliver in the third game if they eye taming the resurgent Caribbeans.

Watch: Faf du Plessis’ stunning scoop in MSL 2019