Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali made a criticism for Shreyas Iyer for a disappointing performance in Duleep Trophy 2024. In the second round of the Duleep Trophy, he departed on a seven-ball duck.
The senior batter who was snubbed out of India’s squad for the Bangladesh test lost his wicket to Khaleel Ahmed. Basit was disappointed by Iyer’s performance in the red-ball cricket.
He said that the Kolkata Knight Riders captain should have made use of the opportunity and should have smashed a Hundred in the absence of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujrara.
“As a cricketer, it saddens me to see him. If you are getting out in front, your concentration isn’t in the game. And especially the red-ball game. He has scored two centuries in the World Cup, he’s an IPL-winning captain, he should’ve scored 100-200 runs here.”
“Iyer is so lucky that Rahane and Pujara aren’t playing in the Duleep Trophy,” Basit said on his YouTube channel. “Iyer doesn’t have the hunger for red-ball cricket anymore. He’s only hungry for boundaries. You should prioritise it. If he’s thinking he is similar to Virat Kohli after hitting two centuries in World Cup, no, it doesn’t happen that way.”
“I’m sorry to Indians who like him, but if I was India’s selector, Iyer wouldn’t have been in the Duleep Trophy at all. He’s not respecting the game,” he added.
Earlier, he made his return to red-ball cricket in the Buchi Babu tournament where he scored 2 and 22 for Mumbai against TNCA Xl. After Rishabh Pant came back in the squad, Iyer lost his place in the squad. Meanwhile, KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan also secured of the middle-order spot.
Devdutt Padikkal who did not make it into the squad scored a half-century on his test squad against England early this year.
The first match of the Bangladesh test will be played between on September 19 – 23 at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
