Shreyas Iyer notched up his first half-century in the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy season, days after losing his central contract with the BCCI
India captain Rohit Sharma did not feature in the Ranji Trophy final between his team Mumbai and Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium despite the Test series finale against England finishing on the day before the domestic match, but he was present on Tuesday to support his side. It hence served a huge opportunity for Shreyas Iyer to prove his worth and make a case for himself to return to the Test side, but the Mumbai batter committed ‘hara-kiri’ on Day 3 of the match as he dismissed just five runs short of his century.
Shreyas Iyer scored his first half-century knock in 2023/24 Ranji Trophy season
Iyer has not been enjoying a favourable run in the red-ball format. Having not scored even a fifty in the last 12 months for India, the middle-order batter was dropped from the national side last month after the second game against England. He later lost his central contract with the BCCI after he neglected the board’s order to participate in the Ranji Trophy season after being dropped from India.
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Iyer later joined the Mumbai side for the semifinals, but in two innings hence, one against Tamil Nadu and the other against Vidarbha in the final, he managed just 10 runs as his weakness against the short ball undid him. He, however, bounced back on Tuesday to score his first fifty in the tournament before standing on the verge of completing a ton. But Iyer seemed a little too ambitious at 95, hoping to reach the mark with a six, as his efforts were stopped by the fielder at long off.
“You can call it hara-kiri or bravery, but the fact is that he lost his wicket. But that is how he plays. You live by the sword and you die by the sword,” exclaimed the commentator as Rohit looked on at the dismissal from the Mumbai dug out.
It will be a long shot for Iyer to return to the Indian Test side, who will play their next series at home against Bangladesh in September, given that there are no domestic red-ball games in between. However, he surely will be looking to make a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad on the back of a stellar season for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024. The tournament begins from March 22 in Bengaluru with defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on 2016 finalist Royal Challengers Bangalore.
