"People Started Saying...": Shreyas Iyer Justifies His Anger, Takes Aim At Critics

As India took on New Zealand in their Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Virat Kohli made the headlines by breaking Sachin Tendulkar's world record by scoring his 50th ODI hundred. In a chat with the broadcaster after the match, however, Iyer admitted that he wasn't happy with the outside noise over his failures in the first couple of games. Iyer had also lashed out a reporter in a press conference during this World Cup when asked about his struggles against the short ball. But, is glad to have silence all those with a century in the semi-final.

In a chat with India legend Shreyas Iyer at Wankhede after the semi-final win against New Zealand, the middle-order batter highlighted how unfair people from the outside were to him after two bad games.

"I didn't perform good in 1-2 matches at the start of the World Cup. I was getting the starts, but wasn't able to convert them into big ones. But if you look at it (the stats), I was not out against Afghanistan and Pakistan, and then I had two bad innings. Then, people started saying that he has a problem. Inside, I was very angry, I was not showing it but I knew my time would come and then I'd prove myself. And it has come now, at the right time," Iyer said.

Iyer credited skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid for their support during the bad phase. 

"It's pivotal, coming from the captain and coach. I didn't have a great start to the World Cup. They told me not to worry about the outside noise, we are backing you, so you just got to go out there and express yourself," he said.

When asked about the pressure situations, Iyer said: "To be honest in pressure situations you tend to get nervous but at the same time it's also fun playing in front of so many people and if you perform they lift you up."

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Shreyas Iyer World Cup 2023 Cricket