Shreyas Iyer or Deepak Hooda – in the Asia Cup squad? The decision to be made ahead T20s against West Indies
Shreyas Iyer Or Deepak Hooda – In The Asia Cup Squad? A series of five T20 matches are to be played between India and West Indies. The Indian team is in the lead 2-1 in the series. The final two matches are set to be played in Florida, the USA. The finals will be hosted on August 6-7. These two matches are extremely important for many players of the team. On August 8, the members of the Indian team will be announced for the Asian Cup. All eyes are glued to Shreyas Iyer.
It seems difficult for Iyer to succeed in the Asian Cup. The same situation prevails in the T20 World Cup squad. Iyer’s form has been poor for a few games. Iyer scored his last half-century against Sri Lanka. This took place on February 27, 2022, in Dharamsala. Iyer was in excellent form and shape at that time. He then went on to score half centuries in three consecutive games. Iyer wasn’t present in the international T20 after the IPL.
There is huge competition to grab a position in the batting department. The Indian team is in a dilemma for the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. For the continental competition, Deepak Hooda has more chances to be picked ahead of Shreyas Iyer. He can be number three back up in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022.
Hooda has proved himself undroppable with his solid performances. He showed his batting talent in the shorter format. Iyer is in contradiction. Iyer has displayed a string of poor scores.
So the competition is stiff between Iyer and Hooda. Iyer played the first three T20s against the WestIndies. But his performance didn’t improve. He knocked only 34 runs in three matches.
There is no comparison of that to Hooda. He has pulled up scores of 21, 47 not out, 104, and 33 in his last four T20 matches. He didn’t get a chance in the T20s against the West Indies.
The performance of Iyer will be under intense scrutiny. India is gearing up for the T20I games against West Indies. It is set to start in Fort Lauderhill on August 6, 2022.
In the Indian setup, if there is someone whose performance will be monitored intensely, it is Iyer.
Deepak Hooda has made the most of the opportunities handed to him.
The short ball is Iyer’s main problem. Iyer gives a feeling that he cannot decide at what pace and which gear would he bat in a T20 game.
Rahul Dravid has given him enough rope to succeed.
Dravid gave Iyer nine T20I games in the last two and half months. The match in Bengaluru was a wash-out. He did not achieve a single fifty-plus score. He got a golden chance to come out within the first 10 overs.
KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are back in the playing eleven for the Asia Cup.
Reasons for Hooda to be ahead of Iyer in the pecking order
- Hooda has impressed everyone in the last two months while representing Team India
- He knocked a T20 hundred recently
- Iyer’s performance has been below par in the T20 format
- Hooda is suitable to be used as a floater in the playing XI. Hooda knows to finish off innings in style
- He can be more than handy with the ball when required
Teams
India
Rohit Sharma – Captain
Suryakumar Yadav
Shreyas Iyer
Deepak Hooda
Hardik Pandya
Rishabh Pant
Ishan Kishan
Dinesh Karthik
Sanju Samson
Ravindra Jadeja
Axar Patel
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravi Bishnoi
Kuldeep Yadav
Arshdeep Singh
Avesh Khan
Bhuvneswar Kumar
Harshal Patel
West Indies
Nicholas Pooran – Captain
Rovman Powell
Shamarh Brooks
Dominic Drakes
Shimron Hetmyer
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Obed McCoy
Keemo Paul
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
Devon Thomas
Hayden Walsh