"Let's give some respect to the guy" - Aakash Chopra on Indian batter being under-appreciated ahead of IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Shreyas Iyer hasn't been given due respect for his impressive performances for the Men in Blue. He pointed out that the middle-order batter might not have been in the Indian squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy if not for Virat Kohli's injury before the first ODI against England in the preceding series.

India have qualified for the semi-finals of the 2025 Champions Trophy with six-wicket wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan in their first two Group A games in Dubai. They will square off against New Zealand in their final group game at the same venue on Sunday, March 2.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener reckoned that Shreyas hasn't been recognized enough.

"We talk less about Shreyas Iyer. Let's give some respect to the guy because he deserves to be spoken about. His life story is very interesting. Before Virat Kohli got injured in Nagpur, the team had planned to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal alongside Rohit Sharma and that they would play Shubman Gill at No. 4 and Kohli had to play at No. 3," he said (1:05).

Chopra pointed out that Shreyas was fortunate to be a part of India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad.

"Shreyas Iyer wasn't even featuring in the team. Virat Kohli got injured. So they said they would move Shubman to No. 3 and play Shreyas at No. 4. Interestingly, Shreyas scored runs in that match," he observed.

"Yashasvi got out in one match and Shubman has been playing well. So as soon as Virat Kohli came, you couldn't touch Shreyas Iyer. So you kept him at No. 4, Shubman Gill went back to open and Yashasvi was dropped for the Champions Trophy," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

Shreyas Iyer smashed 59 runs off 36 deliveries in India's four-wicket win in the first ODI against England in Nagpur earlier this month. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who managed only 15 runs off 22 deliveries in that game, was dropped for the last two ODIs against England and made way for Varun Chakaravarthy in India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad.

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"He scored 500 runs in the World Cup" - Aakash Chopra on Shreyas Iyer's impressive ODI record

Shreyas Iyer scored 56 runs off 67 deliveries in India's 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan. [P/C: Getty]

While observing that Shreyas Iyer might have been found wanting against short-pitched bowling in Tests, Aakash Chopra added that the Mumbaikar impressed in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

"I feel Shreyas Iyer is under-appreciated at times. He has been scoring runs. He was tested in Tests with bouncers. Then it seemed like it was an obvious weakness and he also got injured after that and went out, but before that, he scored 500 runs in the World Cup he played," he said (12:25) in the same video.

The analyst pointed out that Shreyas took the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL 2024 title after being denied a central contract.

"He is the first Indian to score 500 runs while batting at No. 4 in a World Cup edition. However, after that, he was dropped from the team, removed from the list of contracted players, and there were speculations that he wasn't disciplined. Then he became the captain in the IPL and won the trophy. Things started changing," Chopra elaborated.

To conclude, Chopra opined that Shreyas has been under-appreciated for his performances.

"His story is extremely interesting. Sometimes he is at the center of things and is totally out of the team on other occasions, and isn't appreciated that much. However, he has been playing well. He batted beautifully against Pakistan. He was batting beautifully when he was playing against England before that. Give credit where it's due. I feel we don't appreciate him enough," he observed.

Shreyas Iyer has amassed 2673 runs at an average of 47.73 in 62 ODI innings. He aggregated 530 runs at an average of 66.25 in 11 innings in the 2023 World Cup.