"He actually owes it to Virat Kohli's injury" - Aakash Chopra lauds Indian batter's knock in IND vs PAK 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Shreyas Iyer for scoring a crucial half-century in the Men in Blue's 2025 Champions Trophy win against Pakistan. He noted that the middle-order batter might have missed the ICC event had Virat Kohli not suffered a knee injury before the first ODI of the preceding series against England.

India bowled Pakistan out for 241 in a Group A 2025 Champions Trophy game in Dubai on Sunday, February 23. Shreyas scored 56 runs off 67 deliveries in the chase to help Rohit Sharma and company register a six-wicket win with 45 deliveries to spare.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener pointed out that Kohli's injury potentially helped Shreyas retain his place in the Men in Blue's 2025 Champions Trophy squad.

"Shreyas Iyer needs to be spoken about. Let me just rewind. He wasn't supposed to play the first match against England. He actually owes it to Virat Kohli's injury. Virat Kohli got injured in Nagpur and because of that, he got a chance to play. Both he and Yashasvi played and it became a straight shoot-out," he said (7:35).

Chopra opined that Yashasvi Jaiswal might have pipped Shreyas to a place in the Indian squad had he outperformed his fellow Mumbaikar in the first ODI against England.

"If Yashasvi had scored runs in that match and he hadn't, he might not have been in Dubai. He might have been sitting at home and watching this match. Yashasvi got out there, he scored runs, Kohli came back in the next match, suddenly the team's mindset changed, and Yashasvi is not part of the Champions Trophy. It could have been Shreyas Iyer," he observed.

Jaiswal and Shreyas were a part of India's initial 2025 Champions Trophy squad. However, the opener was left out of the final squad, with Varun Chakaravarathy taking his place.

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"There is no doubt that he plays spin extremely well" - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer's half-century in IND vs PAK 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Shreyas Iyer struck five fours and a mighty six during his 56-run knock. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Shreyas Iyer for his game against the spinners and for stitching a crucial 114-run third-wicket partnership with Virat Kohli (100* off 111) after Shubman Gill's (46 off 52) dismissal in the 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan.

"There are two or three very important things in his game. Firstly, there is no doubt that he plays spin extremely well. There was only one way to get stuck in this match, and that was to lose back-to-back wickets. As soon as Shubman Gill got out, he came to bat and didn't let the next wicket fall," he said (8:15).

The cricketer-turned-commentator also appreciated Shreyas for rectifying his shortcomings against bouncers.

"The fast bowlers were bowling bouncers and his game against the bouncer has changed. He is also leaving a few deliveries. He takes on the bouncers once in a while and hits over midwicket when he does that, which means he has the time. We just see the final product. It takes hours and thousands of balls to rectify your weakness," Chopra observed.

Chopra noted that Shreyas took the attack to the Pakistan bowlers, especially the spinners, once the ship had been steadied and was unfortunate to be dismissed when Imam-ul-Haq took an excellent catch off Khushdil Shah's bowling. He added that the value of Shreyas' knock in India's 2025 Champions Trophy win against Pakistan cannot be underestimated.