Shreyas Iyer has to improve his game against fast bowlers: Wasim Jaffer

Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer felt that Shreyas Iyer needs to improve his game against the fast bowlers to ensure he is more successful in the longer run. Iyer scored a 27-ball 36 against South Africa in the first T20I, which included one four and three sixes, however, he did show struggles against the fast bowling. He was dismissed going for a big heave in the offside against Dwaine Pretorious and his off-stumps bails were knocked off.

This isn’t the first time Iyer has struggled against fast bowlers, as he has previously struggled against the short ball. In IPL 2022, the right-hander had a strike rate of 130 against spinners and was been dismissed six times, while his strike rate against fast bowlers is 138.06 and was removed seven times, indicating that there is still a lot of potential for development for the KKR captain against the quicks.

Shreyas Iyer needs to develop some shots with which he can dominate the fast bowlers: Wasim Jaffer

Jaffer mentioned the way Shreyas Iyer moves around the crease when he feels the pressure against fast bowlers and tries to go over the off-side fielders to get those boundaries. He noted Iyer’s strengths against spin bowling but wasn’t convinced about his gameplay against the fast bowlers. He felt that Iyer needs to improve on his boundary hitting against quicks if he has to bat in the top four and added that some more runs could have come his way if he had the shots.

“You kind of know when Shreyas gets stuck, he moves around in the wicket a lot. He goes outside and wants to access the off-side. Otherwise, you won’t see him hitting a lot of boundaries or sixes off the fast bowlers. He did take down Shamsi and then later on Ishan Kishan took on the Keshav Maharaj threat,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.

“Look at the future, he needs to develop some shots with which he can dominate the fast bowlers also. He is batting in the top 4, he is not somebody who comes at the backend. So he has to improve his game, especially the boundary hitting against fast bowlers. That innings could have been a little bit better. 10-15 more would have come if he had hit a couple more boundaries in this innings,” he added.