‘He cannot set the momentum’: Shardul Thakur explains Shreyas Iyer's batting struggles

Shardul Thakur has backed Shreyas Iyer amid questions over the Indian captain's batting returns in the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, saying the middle-order batter should not be judged on the basis of a handful of performances.India suffered an 87-run defeat in the fourth T20I in Auckland on Friday after failing to chase down New Zealand's target of 260. Iyer contributed 22 off 11 deliveries, but India finished at 172/9.Speaking during a review of the match on SonyLIV, Thakur explained that Iyer's position in the batting order does not always allow him to dictate the tempo, unlike the top-order batters. The all-rounder pointed out that the No. 4 batter often has to adapt to the situation when he walks in."Many times, how you bat depends on the match situation, and at the number he bats, he has to react to the situation. He cannot set the momentum. The momentum gets set by the top three batters, but Shreyas Iyer comes at No. 4, and sometimes at No. 5 if the left-hander is sent in as a tactical call," he said.Thakur added that batting in the middle order brings its own challenges, as Iyer has to assess the scoreboard, build his innings and also deliver towards the end."You have to react based on the situation and the scoreboard. So it's not an easy position to bat, and once you get set, you also need death batting. So, it's a challenge as to how you adapt to the game, set the tempo of your batting, and finish as well. So he has a lot of responsibility," Thakur observed.Iyer has scored 76 runs in the first four matches of the series at an average of 19. He began with a 42 off 28 balls in the opening T20I but managed only single-digit scores in the next two games before making 22 in Auckland.Thakur also highlighted the additional demands of leading the Indian side, saying captaincy can influence a player's decision-making. However, he pointed to Iyer's leadership record in the IPL as evidence of his ability to handle the responsibility."On top of that, he is the captain. That's an added responsibility for him these days. So the decision-making can be up and down at times. However, we have seen him doing captaincy in domestic cricket and especially in the IPL, and he has played the final with two (three) franchises. He played the final with KKR and won. He played the final with Punjab and lost," he said.The Mumbai Indians all-rounder further backed Iyer's progress as India's captain, recalling that he had made a strong recovery after a difficult start to his stint in the role. Thakur urged against drawing conclusions about a player's or captain's abilities based on fluctuations in the shortest format."So he has the captaincy skills, and he is showing that when he is leading the Indian team. His start wasn't good, but the comeback he has made in captaincy, and the tactics he is trying to apply in the game are working for him. Ups and downs keep happening in T20 cricket. You don't need to judge any batter or bowler much in this format, and Shreyas Iyer too as a captain," Thakur observed.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.