The Indian team is set to play an ODI series after eight months as they will be facing Sri Lanka in the three-match series. All matches of the series will be played R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, starting from August 2nd.
It is going to be a crucial series for India as this will be the only ODI series they will play in 2024. After that, the Men in Blue are scheduled to play a three-match ODI series against England in the starting of 2025 ahead of the Champions Trophy in February - March.
Along with this, we will also see some big players like the skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul returning in the ODI format for India after a long time. Apart from this, another player in the Indian squad that has caught the attention of the fans is Shreyas Iyer.
The right-hander has been one of the consistent batters for India in the ODI format scoring 2383 runs from 59 ODI matches of his career at an average of 49.63 and a strike rate of 101.27. Iyer has provided stability to the Indian middle order with his constant performance and has been an answer for India’s number four in ODIs.
Shreyas Iyer at number four in ODIs
The main concern for the Indian team in the last few years was to find a stable and consistent batter at number four batting position in the ODI format. The management tried many players in that position but couldn't find someone who could be effective while batting in the middle overs of the game.
However, ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup, India tried Shreyas Iyer at number four in ODIs and it turned out to be the best deal for the management. Iyer had a memorable World Cup campaign, where he scored 530 runs from 11 matches at an average of 66.25 and a strike rate of 113.24, including a century in the semi-final against New Zealand.
Although India couldn’t win the trophy, but Shreyas Iyer ensured that India have finally a got stable batter in the middle-order who could make the scoreboard running in the middle overs and can change the gears in death overs to take his team to a big total. Let’s have a look at his stats and records while batting at number four.