MUMBAI: To ensure that his father comes to the Wankhede Stadium to watch him bat for the first time in front of his 'home crowd' in a Test match, Shreyas Iyer has to fulfill a 'simple' condition: score 75-80 runs at least!
"I normally don't go to watch him bat at the ground because I get nervous, so I prefer to watch him play on TV instead. However, if he reaches 75 or 80, I don't mind driving to the Wankhede. It's the same with his mother (Rohini)," Santosh Iyer told TOI on Thursday, the eve of the second Test against New Zealand here. Considering that Shreyas stroked 101 & 65 in his debut Test at Green Park in Kanpur, that 'task' shouldn't be too difficult! Taking into account that the Iyers reside in Worli, which is hardly a 20-minute distance from the Wankhede Stadium, reaching the venue in quick time once his son scores that much shouldn't be a problem for the parents.
"Shreyas never asks me to come to the ground to watch me play. He leaves it to me. I don't even go to watch him play in the Ranji Trophy or the IPL, because it makes me nervous," says Santosh. The IPL riches, success as India's white-ball player, or the debut hundred at Kanpur, Santosh said, haven't changed Shreyas one bit. "He remains a down to earth, grounded boy," beamed the proud father.
