Shreyas Iyer - The Young Power Hitter of the Indian Team

The swashbuckling right-handed batsman Shreyas Iyer is currently the most exciting prospect in all formats of cricket, be it ODI, T20I, or IPL. He is one of the biggest power hitters in the current circuit and has been compared with Virender Sehwag for his playing style by cricket enthusiasts. Iyer plays for the Indian team in the ODI and T20 format and is the Delhi Capitals skipper in the Indian Premier League. Shreyas Iyer’s biography is filled with match-winning performances in domestic cricket playing for Mumbai.

Iyer’s Domestic Career

Shreyas Iyer represented the Trent Bridge Cricket Team in the UK and scored 297 runs at an average of 99 in three matches. He scored 171 runs for his team in one of the games, which is a new record for his team. In the 2014-15 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Iyer made his List A debut for his team Mumbai and scored 273 runs in the tournament. During the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, Iyer made his first-class cricket debut in 2014 December and scored 809 runs that included two centuries and six fifties. He became the 7th highest scorer in his debut Ranji season.

Shreyas Iyer scored 1,321 runs in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy, which included four centuries and seven fifties. He became the second player to score 1300 runs in a single season of Ranji and was the top scorer for that particular season. In the next Ranji season, Iyer scored 725 runs and hit two centuries and two fifties. He scored his highest first-class score of 202 runs against Australia Team in a practice match in Mumbai.

Iyer became the vice-captain of Mumbai for the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He scored 373 runs from seven matches and became the leading run-scorer for Mumbai. Shreyas Iyer became the captain of India B’s squad for the 2018-19 Deodhar Trophy, where he scored 199 runs in three matches and was the top run-scorer of the tournament. Iyer made 147 runs in the 2018–19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament, which was the highest score by any Indian batsman in T20 matches. Shreyas Iyer’s current teams are Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2020 and Mumbai in Domestic cricket.

Shreyas Iyer’s IPL Career

Because of his brilliant performance in domestic cricket, Delhi Daredevils signed Shreyas Iyer for the 2015 Indian Premier League at an enormous price of Rs 2.6 Crore. He became the highest-earning uncapped cricketer in the 2015 IPL auction. Iyer scored 439 runs at a strike rate of 128.36 in 14 matches and became the 9th highest-scorer of IPL 2015. He also won the award for Emerging Player of IPL season 8 for his aggressive batting and increased his chances of being selected in the national side.

Shreyas Iyer’s IPL 2016 season wasn’t as good because he managed to score only 30 runs from six innings.  However, this Mumbai Indians lad got his form back in the 2017 season and scored 336 crucial runs for his team and also broke his personal best by scoring a blazing fast 96. The 2018 season became a milestone year in his career as he became Delhi Capitals’ Captain after Gautam Gambhir resigned from the post of captaincy.

Delhi Capitals retained Iyer in the 2019 IPL, where he led the team from the front and scored 463 runs at an average of 30.86. He had a good season as a skipper as well as the batsman as his team went into the playoffs for the very first time after seven long years.

Shreyas Iyer’s Stats

BATTING CAREER SUMMARY

International Career

Shreyas Iyer was included in the Indian Test squad in March 2017 against Australia ahead of the fourth Test. In the fourth Test, he ran out Stephen O’Keefe as a substitute fielder. He was named in the Twenty20 International squad against New Zealand in October 2017. Iyer made his T20I debut against New Zealand on November 1, 2017, but did not get the opportunity to bat. He got his first batting opportunity on November 4, 2017, where he scored 23 runs from 21 balls.

Shreyas Iyer was named in the one Day International squad for the Sri Lanka series and made his ODI debut for India on December 10, 2017. He also played ODI matches against South Africa in January 2018. Iyer scored 71 and 63 runs in the 2nd and 3rd ODIs against West Indies in August 2019 and became the second-highest run-scorer in the series after skipper Virat Kohli.

In the 2nd ODI against West Indies in December 2019, Shreyas Iyer scored 31 runs in one over, which are the most number of runs scored by an Indian batsman in a single over in ODIs. He scored an unbeaten 58 runs off 29 balls against New Zealand in the T20I match held in January 2020 and was awarded Man-of-the-Match for his brilliant performance. In the second T20I match against New Zealand, Iyer scored 44 runs from 33 balls. He hit his maiden ODI century in international cricket against New Zealand in February 2020, when he scored 103 runs from 107 balls.

Captaincy

Iyer became the Captain of Delhi Capitals from mid-season onward in the 2018 edition after Gautam Gambhir resigned from the post of captaincy due to the poor performance of the team. Shreyas Iyer’s age was 23 years and 142 days on April 27, 2017, when he led the Delhi Daredevils team and became the youngest captain in the history of IPL. On his captaincy debut against Kolkata Knight Riders, Iyer smashed a match-winning 93 runs off 40 balls that included ten sixes. This 93 run innings was his third successive fifty of IPL 2017, which led his team to victory.

He was the DC captain for the next season also, where his leadership skills came to the fore and he led his team to the playoffs for the first time in the last seven years.

Personal Details

Shreyas Iyer’s Family

Shreyas was born to Santosh Iyer and Rohini Iyer in Mumbai. Even though his family’s roots go back to Thrissur, Kerala, he played first-class and List-A cricket for Mumbai. He went to Don Bosco High School, Matunga, and then Ramniranjan Anandilal Poddar College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai.