Speculation about Sooryavanshi’s debut has surrounded the Indian camp since the 15-year-old was included in the squads for the Ireland and England tours. However, Iyer stressed the importance of creating a stable environment for the current squad to avoid unnecessary uncertainties.
When asked directly about Sooryavanshi’s participation in Wednesday’s match, the India skipper refrained from disclosing the team’s plans, keeping his strategy under wraps ahead of the first T20I.
“You never know what is going to happen. Our hands are also tied at the moment in terms of what we are going to do. This is very private,” he stated.
“This is something we discuss within the team. We cannot let everyone know about our lineup and give our opponents a heads-up. He is a talent, and whenever he gets a chance to play, he will definitely do a brilliant job.” The India captain denied any external pressure to provide Sooryavanshi a debut.
To include the 15-year-old batting prodigy, India may need to alter the successful opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.
“Look, all the players in the team have performed well; it’s not the case that only one individual has stood out,” Iyer told reporters on the eve of the first T20I here on Tuesday.
“But we must create that opportunity and security, ensuring each individual feels confident going into upcoming tournaments. The players who won the last World Cup surely understand how to play T20, and they have consistently been key players in that format, so it’s essential to back them,” Iyer conveyed.
“I’m not really seeing any demands like that. Honestly, I’m not aware of anything. I don’t follow the news or social media closely. I haven’t heard anything,” he added.
Iyer, who assumed the India captaincy prior to the Ireland tour, called the team’s first-ever series loss to Ireland “depressing.”
“It wasn’t embarrassing, but it was disappointing for us since we certainly didn’t anticipate Ireland performing that well,” he remarked.
“They outperformed us in every aspect. They had great strategies regarding the ground dimensions, while we fell short in analyzing and planning for the conditions and the pitch.” “Kudos to them; we gained valuable insights from that series. This marks a completely new chapter for us here.” He added, “Some of us have played in England before and are familiar with the conditions and dimensions. We’re looking forward to an intense and challenging series.” Iyer acknowledged that India struggled to adapt to the conditions in Ireland after losing the series 0-2.
“(In) Belfast, we played after many years,” he acknowledged.
“That’s not an excuse for our series loss, but I’m saying in terms of acclimatizing to the pitch and conditions, we fell short, also in reading the outfield.” Iyer noted that the Stormont ground had an unusual layout that the Indian team struggled to adapt to.
“The Belfast ground definitely wasn’t a proper stadium. The outfield was somewhat slow and uneven. The dimensions were also a bit squarish,” Iyer observed.
“As a captain, when setting the field, it felt a bit unusual, since we aren’t accustomed to that. In the IPL, all the grounds were uniformly even from every direction. So, that posed a bit of a challenge.” “Here in England, the dimensions are quite similar, but the ground is flat, and you can feel the stadium atmosphere, and the crowd will be intense. We’ve played in such conditions before. So, yes, we are building into that,” he explained.
Iyer expressed that he is not worried about his form after a couple of underwhelming performances in Ireland.
“The way I’m timing the ball in the nets, even in the last game, I felt I was timing brilliantly; just that one ball took an inner edge,” he mentioned.
“That doesn’t reflect my batting or how much pressure I’m facing. I firmly believe in my instincts. I know how well I perform under pressure.”
(With PTI inputs)
