Vengsarkar: If Shreyas gets runs, he’ll be in better position to call the shots

As T20 world champions India are on the verge of losing their straight second T20I series after suffering a massive 125-run loss to England at Nottingham on Tuesday, former skipper Dilip Vengsarkar believes Shreyas Iyer, whose captaincy stint has begun on a poor note, needs runs under his belt to lead from the front.

Vengsarkar, a 116-Test veteran, is speaking from his rich experience. In his first Test as skipper, Vengsarkar scored 102 against the Viv Richards-led West Indies at Delhi in 1987-88 before India lost by five wickets. The hosts drew the second at Wankhede with captain Vengsarkar scoring 51 and 40 not out respectively. In the drawn third Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Vengsarkar again led from the front, smashing 102 before retiring hurt.

India skipper Shreyas Iyer during their defeat to England in Nottingham on Tuesday. Pic/BCCI

“The captain has to perform because if he [Iyer] is among the runs, he can call the shots better. But if he’s struggling for runs, it affects his confidence, and that affects the confidence of the team too,” Dilip Vengsarkar told mid-day on Wednesday.

Iyer, who replaced T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav as India skipper, lost his first T20I series (two matches) to Ireland (0-2) at Belfast last month, where he scored just three and 10. He then got a 47-ball 68 in the rain-abandoned first T20I against England at Chester-le-Street on July 1 before scoring 37 and five in defeats at Manchester and Nottingham respectively.

Vengsarkar though has a lot of faith in Iyer. “Shreyas is a good batsman. He can come into form anytime, and that’s necessary, not just for him as an individual but even for the Indian team,” he said.

Vengsarkar, the only overseas batsman to score three successive Test centuries at Lord’s, also blamed the frequent changes in the top order for India’s poor show. “There’s a lot of chopping and changing in the top order and that has an effect on players because they feel the uncertainty and their game suffers. If players have proved themselves then you must give them a long rope where they have room to perform,” said Vengsarkar adding that even acclimatisation could be an issue for the Indians.

“In English conditions, you take time to get acclimatized and the Indian team did not get that time. Had they played a couple of T20 matches against an England ‘A’ team or a County team, it would’ve helped. But if you directly play an international match overseas, it’s tough, especially in countries like Australia and England,” Vengsarkar concluded.

4
No. of defeats for Shreyas Iyer in his first 5 T20Is as skipper; the first Indian to experience this