Shreyas Iyer is confident that India’s young players, including teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, will learn from their recent struggles and return stronger in the T20I series against Zimbabwe. Iyer has endured a difficult start to his captaincy, with India suffering successive series defeats to Ireland and England, leaving him still in search of his first win as skipper. The inexperienced batting unit also found it difficult to cope with pressure in crucial moments. Vaibhav, who made his India debut against England after an impressive domestic and IPL season, endured a quiet start to his international career, managing scores of 14, 13 and 15 in three innings. Despite the disappointing returns, the team management remains optimistic that the youngster will benefit from the experience and quickly find his feet at the highest level.
Expressing faith in the young squad, Iyer said players like Sooryavanshi would have analysed their mistakes and put in the hard work to correct them ahead of the Zimbabwe series.
“All the youngsters, I think, they have definitely practiced. There was a decent gap after the T20 series. So he (Sooryavanshi) must have rectified where he went wrong. So personally, I don’t have to give much advice,” Iyer told reporters.
Also Read – Agarkar vs Rohit isn’t the first: Indian cricket’s long history of unceremonious exits. Feat. Ganguly, Sachin, Kohli
After losing six of his first seven T20Is as captain in series defeats to Ireland and England, Shreyas has an opportunity to turn things around against Zimbabwe. The three-match series offers India a chance to regain winning momentum and restore confidence after a disappointing run in the shortest format.
“Fear of failure has no place in this team”
Iyer also stressed the importance of playing with a free mind, without fear of failure, and asked the young Indian players to stay focused on the present rather than being weighed down by outside opinions.
“I feel that they shouldn’t have the fear of failure. Because whenever there are such thoughts at the back of your mind, then you just play to survive. When there isn’t the thought of fear of failure, then you can bring out the best from within yourself. So I have to convey this message that you shouldn’t think much about the talk happening outside, what people will say, or as you said if this series goes up or down. We have to stay in the present day. The better cricket we play, the more we play with team unity, the more the team will benefit from it. We’ll think about individuals later,” he said.