Shreyas Iyer ke liye yeh saal kafi utaar-chadhaav bhara raha hai. Ek waqt tha jab woh Indian cricket team ke liye ek chhota sa naam nahi, balki ek bada star maane jaate the, lekin ab unka naam na T20I mein hai, na hi Test team mein. December 2023 ke baad se unhone ek bhi T20I match nahi khela, aur February 2024 ke baad se Test team se bhi baahar hain. BCCI ke central contract se bhi unhe nikaal diya gaya tha, jo unke career ka ek bada jhatka tha. Yeh sab dekhkar lagta hai ki Shreyas ka career shayad ab ek mushkil mod par khada hai, jahaan unki wapas lautne ki ummeed thodi kamzor padti ja rahi hai. Unka Test aur T20I record bhi itna shandaar nahi raha, jaisa ki ek samay unke ODI performances ne dikhaaya tha.
Lekin cricket mein ek baat hamesha sach hoti hai – form aur talent kabhi chhupta nahi. Shreyas Iyer ne IPL 2025 mein Punjab Kings ke liye apni captaincy aur batting se sabko chaunka diya. Unhone na sirf team ko 11 saal baad playoffs mein pahunchaya, balki Qualifier 2 mein Mumbai Indians ke khilaaf ek shandaar 87 not out ki innings kheli, jo 41 balls mein aayi. Yeh innings unki wahi purani chamak dikhaati hai, jo humne 2023 ODI World Cup mein dekhi thi, jahaan unhone 530 runs banaye, jismein ek shatak aur teen adh-shatak shaamil the. Unki yeh performance BCCI ke selectors ke liye ek bada sandesh thi. Reports ke mutabik, BCCI ab unhe T20 World Cup 2026 ke liye seriously consider kar raha hai, aur Rohit Sharma ke ODI captaincy ke baad unhe ek potential successor ke roop mein bhi dekha ja raha hai.
Shreyas ki captaincy ka jalwa sirf IPL tak seemit nahi raha. Unhone India A ke liye 10 series mein captaincy ki hai, jismein unhone apni leadership skills ko saabit kiya. Former chief selector MSK Prasad ne bhi kaha tha ki Shreyas ko captaincy ke liye groom kiya gaya hai, jo unhe Hardik Pandya aur Ravindra Jadeja se aage rakhta hai. Yeh baat unke favour mein jaati hai, kyunki Rohit Sharma, jo ab 38 saal ke hain, ODI cricket mein shayad 2027 World Cup tak hi khelenge. Uske baad team ko ek naye leader ki zarurat hogi, aur Shreyas ka naam ab is race mein shamil ho chuka hai. Unki aggressive batting aur calm captaincy style unhe ek natural choice banati hai, jaisa ki ek X post mein kaha gaya ki woh MS Dhoni aur Rohit Sharma ke baad ek shandaar captain ban sakte hain.
Agar hum past ke matches ki baat karen, toh Shreyas ka ODI record kafi mazboot hai. Unhone 59 ODIs mein 2331 runs banaye hain, jismein 5 shatak aur 17 adh-shatak hain, aur unka average 46.62 hai. Yeh numbers unhe middle order ka ek bharosemand batsman banate hain, jaisa ki humne 2023 ODI World Cup mein dekha, jab unhone South Africa ke khilaaf 77 runs ki ek match-winning innings kheli thi. Us match mein India ne 326 runs ka target chase kiya tha, aur Shreyas ka contribution yaadgaar raha. Iske alaawa, Champions Trophy 2025 mein bhi unhone India ke liye crucial role nibhaaya, jahaan team ne ek bhi match nahi haara. Yeh performances dikhaati hain ki jab baat badi matches ki aati hai, toh Shreyas apna dum dikha sakte hain.
Lekin yahaan ek badi dikkat bhi hai. Shreyas ka T20I record ab tak kafi average raha hai – 51 matches mein 1104 runs, jismein ek bhi shatak nahi hai, aur average sirf 30.66 hai. Test cricket mein bhi unka record (14 matches, 811 runs, average 36.86) itna impressive nahi hai, jiske wajah se unhe team se drop kiya gaya tha. BCCI ke selectors ne unhe England ke khilaaf Test series ke liye bhi nahi chuna, aur T20I mein bhi unka comeback abhi tak nahi hua. Iske alaawa, Shubman Gill aur Rishabh Pant jaise doosre players bhi captaincy race mein hain, aur Gill ko Test captaincy ke liye pehle hi pasand kiya ja chuka hai. Yeh competition Shreyas ke liye ek badi chunauti hai, kyunki agar woh consistent performance nahi dikha paaye, toh unka naam fir se peechhe chhoot sakta hai.
Shreyas Iyer ke liye yeh ek golden chance hai, lekin saath hi ek bada imtehaan bhi. Unka IPL 2025 ka performance unke career ko nayi disha de sakta hai, lekin T20I aur Test mein wapas jagah banane ke liye unhe apne aap ko aur saabit karna hoga. Rohit Sharma aur Virat Kohli ke T20I retirement ke baad (2024 T20 World Cup ke baad dono ne T20I se retirement le liya tha), team mein ek bada void hai, jise Shreyas bhar sakte hain. Lekin agar woh is mauke ko nahi bhunaa paaye, toh shayad cricket ka yeh safar unke liye aur mushkil ho jayega.
