Picture Credit: X
Team India will take on England in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday, February 9. While batting stalwart Virat Kohli is all set to return into the India XI for the upcoming match, as confirmed by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, reports reveal that as part of head coach Gautam Gambhir’s strategy, Shreyas Iyer might miss out.
It is to be noted that in the opening ODI in Nagpur, the middle-order batter, Shreyas Iyer played a crucial knock of 59 runs off 36 deliveries, with his innings being laced with nine boundaries and two maximums. In a shocking revelation thereafter, Iyer confirmed that his place was only confirmed after Virat Kohli missed out on the series opener.
Gautam Gambhir's strategy ahead of second ODI likely to see Shreyas Iyer miss out
With Kohli now being fit to feature in the second ODI, it seems like Iyer would be missing despite his impactful innings. According to a report published by PTI, Iyer could be asked to warm the bench with Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma banking on Yashasvi Jaiswal as opener.
The reports rifed as Iyer was absent from the optional practice session along with several key first-choice players including Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana. With Gambhir-led coaching staff favouring left-right opening combination, they are likely to continue with Jaiswal to open alongside Rohit Sharma with Virat Kohli replacing Iyer at number four.
Earlier after India’s four-wicket win in the first ODI, Shreyas Iyer, who returned to international cricket after an extended gap, revealed that he was just informed of his chances of playing the opener a few hours prior to the match. "I was watching a movie last night, thinking I could stay up late, but then I got a call from the skipper saying I might have to play because Virat had a swollen knee. I rushed back to my room and went straight to sleep,” Iyer said.
India squad for ODI series against England
Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
