IND vs ENG: Gautam Gambhir breaks his silence on almost benching Shreyas Iyer in the first ODI

Shreyas Iyer registered two half-centuries in IND vs ENG 2025 ODI series.

On Wednesday, February 12, the Indian Cricket Team defeated England by 142 runs at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, to seal a 3-0 victory in the ODI series.

India had several positives in the series, including the return of Mohammed Shami, the dominance spinners and Rohit Sharma’s return to form. However, the biggest takeaway will be Shreyas Iyer‘s consistency in the middle order.

Iyer finished the series as the second-highest run-scorer with 181 runs in three games, including two half-centuries. However, he surprisingly revealed after the first ODI that he wasn’t supposed to play until Virat Kohli’s injury gave him the opportunity.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has now issued clarity on the matter.

Gautam Gambhir breaks his silence on almost benching Shreyas Iyer in the first ODI

Speaking to reporters after the series, Gautam Gambhir stressed that Iyer was never meant to be benched throughout the series. He added that the management wanted to test Yashasvi Jaiswal after his brilliant performance in Australia.

Gambhir said, “On Shreyas Iyer, he wasn’t supposed to be benched throughout the series. We wanted to give Yashasvi a go in the first game and see what he could bring to the table because he was in really good form in Australia. So we wanted to see what kind of innings he can play.“

Gambhir also praised Iyer for his excellent performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and called him an important player for the team.

He added, “I know that one inning; you can’t judge someone by one inning. But we always knew that Shreyas was going to be an important player for us; what he’s done at number four because number four beat the World Cup, or forget about even the World Cup, he’s just an important player.“

India’s next assignment, the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, is set to begin on February 19, Wednesday. The Men in Blue are placed in Group A alongside hosts Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, and will start their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh in Dubai.

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