Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa took centre stage and talked about how Shreyas Iyer was not picked in India’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of England. He revealed that Iyer wont be away for long from the Test set up.
The Indian team is all set to tour England for a five-game Test series. The series will kick off from June 20, and the BCCI recently came forward to announce that ace batter Shubman Gill will be India’s new Test captain for the England tour, with Rishabh Pant being the vice captain.
The board also announced the squad that included the likes of KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and many more stars. With the series looming on the horizon, many had wondered why ace India batter Shreyas Iyer was not included in India’s Test squad for the series.
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa took centre stage and talked about Iyer’s absence from the squad. He opined that it is only a matter of time before Iyer makes his return for the Indian team in the longest format of the game.
“He [Iyer] played five matches in Ranji Trophy in this past season, averaging about 58 or 60, 450-odd runs. So, dominant force in Indian cricket. We know his leadership ability and quality. I really felt that there was space for him as a backup batter in the middle order. If there’s any injury, I’m hoping that he’s the one who gets picked. I don’t think you can keep him away from those whites for too long,” Uthappa said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Furthermore, in the same video, Uthappa backed star pacer Arshdeep Singh to feature for India in their playing XI against England in the upcoming tour as well.
“If Bumrah is not playing, I will certainly play Arshdeep Singh because I think he will be more than a handful in Test cricket with the red ball. I think he’s very underrated as a red-ball bowler, and we will see the full depth of his prowess in Test cricket. I’m happy that he’s getting to play as a filler to Bumrah because he’ll bring the same level of effectiveness as far as I’m concerned, my gut,” he remarked.