Shreyas Iyer — daring and different

The Mumbai batsman took a significant step in his second ODI, in the company of a rampaging Rohit

Coach’s pride: Shreyas Iyer’s success has warmed the heart of Pravin Amre who took the dashing batsman under his wings as an eleven-year old.

Shreyas Iyer had to win the India cap in order to be eligible to host coach Pravin Amre for a dinner. “I told him I would come to your house only after you play for India,” said Amre. And Shreyas achieved the distinction in the T20 series against New Zealand last month.

As a 10-year-old, when he ambled up with a request to Amre at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana, Shreyas was told to wait for a year. “I did not want to add a 26th name to my list of trainees,” recalled Amre.

The determined young cricketer that Shreyas was, he returned a year later. And their association led to the gifted batsman featuring in Mumbai cricket, and now representing India.

With that innings of 88 against Sri Lanka in the company of a rampaging Rohit Sharma, the 23-year-old played a decisive knock. His batchmates from Shivaji Park Gymkhana — Shardul Thakur and Siddhesh Lad — must have celebrated Shreyas taking that significant step.

Rohit summed up Shreyas’ performance well, “It didn’t look like he was only playing his second ODI. I am very impressed with the way he played. He showed the right temperament. The conditions were perfect to bat and he made the most of it. He played with confidence. It is sad that he missed his century, but I am sure he will have many more to his name in the future.”

Rocky debut

Shreyas had a rocky First Class debut, at No. 7, when Mumbai lost to Jammu & Kashmir at the Wankhede Stadium in 2014. He made seven and one. “I backed him because I knew he was special,” remembered Amre.

His pupil finished the season with an aggregate of 809 runs and bested it next year by amassing 1,321 runs, the highest ever by any Mumbai batsman.

The knock against Sri Lanka reaffirmed Shreyas’ promise. He is from the Mumbai school, but with a difference. He is not the quintessential Mumbai batsman — head down, playing in a ‘V’ and building his innings. He wants to dominate, hit the first ball that he faces, and would not mind playing across.

He climbed to the No. 3 slot and made his mark. “He can win you the game because he will spot the loose ball quickly and punish. He will not want to play it safe just because he is fresh at the crease. In my opinion, he is unorthodox but very effective,” noted Amre.

Turning point

The 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction was a turning point for Shreyas. From a base price of ₹10 lakh, he commanded a whopping 2.6 crore from the owners of Delhi Daredevils.

Once again, Amre, as a coach at Delhi Daredevils, was the man behind Shreyas earning recognition he richly deserved. It was little wonder that Shreyas won the Emerging Player Award in that edition of the IPL.

It was to Shreyas’ advantage that he had Rohit as partner at the PCA Stadium. He has imbibed the confidence that a Mumbai batsman carries to the crease. Often it is misconstrued as arrogance. “That is the problem with our critics. They are always in a rush to prejudge as it has happened in Shreyas’ case,” averred Amre.

His confidence was best highlighted with that double century for India-A against Australia early this year. It earned him a place in the 14 for the Test at Dharamshala.

After the failures in the T20 series against New Zealand, Shreyas has bounced back with vigour to emerge as an impact player. One more product from the Mumbai batting factory.