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Ahead of the first T20I against New Zealand at Christchurch, Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer said that he is comfortable batting at any number and does not "foresee pushing himself to the top", with the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma and number three batter Ishan Kishan being dominant forces.
The five-match T20I series between world champions India and New Zealand will start on Thursday with the first T20I at Christchurch. This series will be a crucial one for Shreyas as a captain and a batter, with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper struggling to be at his best in both departments. Speaking to reporters ahead of the match, Shreyas said that the team would have to be flexible about their batting positions and be ready to bat wherever they have to, according to the demands and situations within a game. He also said that he can bat at any number and does not have a preferred position. "I feel that as per the demands and situations in a match, you have to be flexible according to that. If you see here, there are a lot of batters who cannot be that destructive down the order. I feel I can bat at any number. It depends on the situation. If you see the last World Cup, Ishan was batting at number three and he is the world's number one T20I batter right now. So I do not foresee myself pushing to the top. Whoever is in the team has to be flexible and be happy with the number you get," said Shreyas. Shreyas has not been able to perform consistently as a batter in T20Is. Since being appointed captain, he has scored 590 runs across 21 innings at an average of 34.70 and a strike rate of over 152, with a century and two fifties. His maiden T20I ton and unbeaten 80* against England have helped his batting average and strike rate massively, with his century in the first T20I against the West Indies being his first fifty-plus score after 10 innings. He followed the century with a quickfire 40 off 18 balls at Ranchi and scores of 1, 16 and 22. Against NZ in T20Is, the Indian T20I skipper has scored 225 runs in 13 matches and 11 innings at an average of 25.00 and a strike rate of 124.30, with a fifty and best score of 58*. However, his cross-format record against NZ is strong, having made 1,098 runs in 28 matches and 27 innings at an average of 43.92 and a strike rate of almost 90, with three centuries and six fifties, with the best score of 105, which came against them in the 2023 World Cup semifinal at Wankhede Stadium in 2023. Shreyas has a fantastic record batting in NZ, having made 512 international runs in 13 matches and 12 innings at an average of 51.20 and a strike rate of 104.91, with a century and four fifties, including a best score of 103. Out of this, seven matches have been T20Is, having made 166 runs at an average of 33.20 and a strike rate of 131.74, with a fifty in seven innings. This year across all international cricket, Shreyas has been slightly underwhelming, having managed 809 runs in 30 innings at an average of 32.36, with just a century and three fifties. Indias T20I Squad: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson [WK], Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)
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