Gambhir: In-form middle-order batter would not have been benched all series
AHMEDABAD: Head coach Gautam Gambhir has dismissed speculation that India only played Shreyas Iyer in the first ODI against England because Virat Kohli was injured. Iyer, as it turned out, was in excellent form throughout the series, starting with a 36-ball 59 with India in early trouble in Nagpur. He followed that up with 44 and 78 in the next two matches.
Gambhir said Iyer had always been in the "scheme of things" and will be an "important player" heading into the Champions Trophy.
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After the Nagpur ODI, Iyer had revealed that he was played only because Kohli’s knee had acted up, and that he had been informed only the night before the game.
Gambhir cleared the air by saying, "He wasn’t supposed to be benched throughout the series. We wanted to give Yashasvi (Jaiswal) a go in the first game and see what he can bring to the table because he was in really good form in Australia."
Jaiswal, however, was subsequently dropped to enable Iyer to retain his place in the side. "I know that you can’t judge someone (Jaiswal) by one innings. But we always knew that Shreyas was going to be an important player for us. Sometimes when you’ve only got three games, you want to try and rotate your squad as well.
"When you’ve got Champions Trophy around the corner, you want to try and maximise these three games and try and give everyone an opportunity. But Shreyas was always in the scheme of things (and it is) good that he played all the three games," Gambhir added.
Asked about his broader view on the effectiveness of left-right combinations, Gambhir said, "That’s the way cricket is meant to be played. It’s not about the batting order, it’s about who can create what impact. It’s about putting a quality left-hander in the middle."
