Shreyas Iyer reveals how Rahul Dravid has taught him to stay composed and focus on scoring runs

What’s the story?

Young Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer has credited former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid for the recent success of the India A team. He also revealed how Dravid has taught him to stay calm and composed and not get distracted by matters beyond his control, such as a national call-up.

As quoted in a report in CricketNext, Iyer said, “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 added.

The context…

Iyer has been in terrific form with the bat for the A team. His last five scored read 65, 108, 82, 90 and 37 and before that he had scored a magnificent unbeaten double century against the visiting Australia side in February. However, despite his superb form, the national selectors have continued to overlook him.

Iyer was called up as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who had suffered an injury before the fourth Test match against Australia in March but he did not make the playing XI.

The heart of the matter

According to the report, Iyer is not at all worried about when he will be called up for the national team again. Instead, he is just focussing on doing his job as has been prescribed by Dravid.

When asked if he was disappointed at not being picked for the Test against Australia, Iyer replied in t negative. He felt that although there are many quality batsmen in the team at the moment, his time will come. For now, he just needs to be patient and perform consistently.

The 22-year-old also stressed on how important fitness is nowadays. He said that he likes working on his fitness when he is not playing and that a role model like Kohli always helps the cause.

What’s next?

Iyer is currently leading the Board President’s XI squad against New Zealand in a warm-up game in Mumbai. After this, he will head back to the Mumbai squad to take part in the Ranji Trophy.

Author’s take

Iyer has impressed one and all with his consistency of late. But then again, as he said, the Indian team have a lot of quality batsmen in their ranks. There are no empty spots in the team, to be honest. However, if he can keep up his good performances, he will definitely get an opportunity to prove his mettle at the top-most level.