Cricket is a game with three formats where a player can establish or get introduced in any of them to establish themselves in the national team. Some players have been majorly successful in ODI’s or T20’s and some who have been great in Test cricket. However, the board also looks to dive into players who will be capable of playing all the formats and giving consistent performances in them as well. You have players like Cheteshwar Pujara who has been one of the top batters for India in Test matches and then you have players like Surya Kumar Yadav who has made a name for himself as a T20 specialist, but you also have the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who have mastered all the three formats of the game.
The likes of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer are some of those players who have the same capabilities as well. Iyer has had a great record in ODI’s and T20 where he has been phenomenal and was also having a decent time in Test matches as well where he has already scored 5 Half centuries and 1 ton in 14 matches. On the other hand, Kishan has been having a great time in white ball cricket as well and was also looking to make his mark in the longest format as well. Though he has played only two Test matches, his counterattacking technique would have still been something to see in Test matches as well.
The board is not happy with the players
Though Iyer was still part of the series against England in the first two Test matches, there was a time after the South Africa series when the board was not including him. Iyer was said to be told by Rahul Dravid and the coaching staff that he was not happy with his shot selection, and wanted him to play some Ranji Trophy, which the latter had refused. The same thing was suggested to Kishan who has already started training for the Indian Premier League(IPL) instead of featuring in Ranji as well. This has led to the board being disappointed with the attitude of these two young talented players in the set-up.
This could be a problem for these players since due to the WTC there are a lot of Test matches being played in a space of two years. This will keep them out of the game for a long time and it will not be an easy task to get back to performing straight away. Talents like this being left out of some big matches due to poor attitude is something that hurts everyone deeply. Iyer is right now suffering through a back spasm injury and Kishan has been practising in Baroda for the upcoming IPL season. Only time will tell if these two players can get their act together and get back to playing some competitive cricket once again.
