Shreyas Iyer‘s captaincy era did not get off to an ideal start as the Men in Blue lost a bilateral series for the first time in more than two years. India were expected to steamroll Ireland in the two-match series, but the hosts pulled off one of the biggest upsets, defeating the visitors 2-0. Shreyas’ predecessor, Suryakumar Yadav, never lost a T20I series, and the defeat to Ireland has now truly put pressure on the Indian camp, which will next take on England in the five-match series.
The series between India and England will begin on Wednesday, July 1, and ahead of the opening T20I, Shreyas made a candid admission, saying his team didn’t expect Ireland to play so well. He also put down the loss to not being acclimatised, saying the entire side failed to adapt.
Both T20Is against Ireland saw India fail to chase down totals, and even Shreyas himself cut a sorry figure with the bat, unable to steady the ship. The series opener saw India losing by 34 runs, while the final T20I saw Ireland coming out on top by one run.
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The last few months have not been ideal for Shreyas; if one also includes his IPL captaincy with the Punjab Kings, he has lost eight out of the nine matches he has led the side in.
“It wasn’t embarrassing, but it was depressing for us, because we definitely didn’t expect Ireland to play that well. They outplayed us in every department; they had brilliant ideas about the dimensions of the ground, and we fell short in terms of analysing and planning the ground and the dimensions, and how the wicket would be played. So, kudos to them, credit to them, but we learnt a lot from that series,” Shreyas told reporters on the eve of the first T20I against England.
“I’m just saying that turning up over there, and then getting acclimatised to the wicket, to the conditions, we fell a bit short in terms of reading the outfield, and getting accustomed to the conditions over there,” he added.
‘New chapter’
However, Shreyas expects his team to bounce back in style for the England series, saying each and every member of the group is in a good mindset and is raring to go.
“This is a completely new chapter for us coming in here. A couple of us have played in England before, and we know the conditions, the ideas, and the dimensions over here. So, looking forward to an intense and challenging series this one,” said Shreyas.
“Great opportunity, it’s going to be challenging. Definitely, the last series didn’t go according to our plan. But in this series, everyone is in a good mindset, and we are definitely looking forward to an intense game, with a great mindset within the group. So, the calmer we are in a pressure situation, the more beneficial it’s going to be for us,” he added.
Shreyas also went a step further by comparing the venues in Belfast and Chester-le-Street, saying the latter in the UK was far more familiar. “I feel it’s completely different because the Belfast ground definitely wasn’t a stadium. The outfield… wasn’t even. And the dimensions also [were] a bit squarish. So, cutting the singles, cutting the doubles, especially when you’re fielding in the outfield, the angles as a captain, setting the field, it felt a bit outlandish because we’re not used to it,” said Shreyas.
“Over here, the ground is flat, and you feel the vibe, you feel the stadium vibe, the crowd would be intense as well. We’ve played in such conditions, such situations before,” he added.
However, the India captain remained tight-lipped on the possible combination, saying the playing XI will be revealed at the toss only. As of now, it looks unlikely that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would make his debut in Durham on Wednesday, as the think tank is likely to stick with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
