Shreyas Iyer’s batting, labeling his innings as “sloppy” and expressing a desire for players in the dressing room with a greater hunger for success.
Pietersen, in his critique on Jio Cinema, remarked, “Listen, when Kohli comes back and other guys come back [KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja], these are the days these boys are going to look back and go, ‘oh why did I not get a hundred? I had the opportunity to get the hundred.’ And when you are sloppy like that, getting out doesn’t impress me at all.”
He went on to emphasize the need for players to seize the moment and dominate the game, saying, “You’ve got to really grab the game by the scruff of its neck and say I am not letting go here. I am afraid to say with Shreyas, it all seems a bit too sloppy. Sloppy is the word.”
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen did not hold back in his criticism of Shreyas Iyer’s performance during the second Test against England. Pietersen referred to Iyer’s innings as “sloppy” and expressed a desire for players in the dressing room who exhibit greater hunger for success.
Pietersen, speaking on Jio Cinema, remarked, “Listen, when Kohli comes back and other guys return [KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja], these are the days these boys are going to look back and go, ‘oh why did I not get a hundred? I had the opportunity to get the hundred.’ And when you are sloppy like that, getting out doesn’t impress me at all.”
He emphasized the importance of players seizing crucial opportunities in the game, stating, “You’ve got to really grab the game by the scruff of its neck and say I am not letting go here. I am afraid to say with Shreyas, it all seems a bit too sloppy. Sloppy is the word.”
During his innings, Shreyas Iyer scored 27 runs from 59 balls before being dismissed, under-edging an intended cut to the wicketkeeper off left-arm spinner Tom Hartley. Iyer’s unorthodox approach against pace and spin on a slow, batting-friendly pitch drew attention. James Anderson, the fast bowler, bowled a couple of overs with bouncers, and Iyer initially pulled them successfully. However, he later changed his approach, attempting to flat-bat the ball to the off side by shuffling outside leg, which proved unsuccessful and led to moments of amusement among the opposition players, including Ollie Pope.
Shubman Gill too didn’t make the chance count, falling for 36 to his old failing of transfer of weight. James Anderson served him a series of length balls, tailing this way and that, around the off stump line before pushing one out wider. Gill lunged out, rather than glide out, and had a firm push at it, bat away from the body, and edged it.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are expected to return for the third Test in Rajkot.
