Right-handed batter Shreyas Iyer has loads of talent but over the course of last two years, he has developed a weakness against the short ball and the opposition uses that tactic whenever the batter comes out to the crease. Shreyas' KKR coach Brendon McCullum was seen given signals to England bowlers to bowl short balls at him and the batter was dismissed through that ploy in both the innings of the recently-concluded Edgbaston Test which India lost by seven wickets.
Ex-BCCI selector Jatin Paranjape talked about Shreyas Iyer and how he needs to sort out his short-ball weakness by grinding it out in the middle.
"I think there are several approaches to this. I don't have a doubt in my mind that Shreyas Iyer has the talent. More importantly, I think he has the gravitas for international cricket. I feel it is a question of learning. From what I saw of him, it's that one ball that got him which he played badly. You could see it in his eyes that he knew he had to bat half a session more. I was thinking to myself the ball before he got out that if Shreyas bats 30-35 minutes here, we are home," the former India player and selector told senior sports journalist Jamie Alter in an interview.
"The next ball he got out. It is something he will learn through direct experience. Rahul Dravid having two cups of coffee with you isn't going to teach you how to do it. You've got to go out there and grind it out. I just hope that Shreyas keeps getting chances. Scoring runs in England against this bowling attack is not an easy proposition, but I think somewhere he's got to find that right balance between waiting it out and playing to his areas of strength. And that can only come with more air miles," he added.
Iyer had recorded scores of 15 and 19 in the recently-concluded Edgbaston Test against England.
Even during the IPL, Shreyas' short-ball weakness came to the forefront and opposition used that tactic to get the better of him.
In the Edgbaston Test, Ben Stokes-led England defeated India by seven wickets as they chased down 378 in the fourth innings and as a result, the series that got underway last year, finished as 2-2.