India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has put his weight behind Shreyas Iyer after England took a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. The former Dutch batter said Iyer must be given his time to grow into his role and get the best out of his players.
Iyer’s captaincy stint with the T20I team has started off on a poor note, as the Men in Blue have suffered five losses under his leadership. India was also stunned by Ireland 2-0 while playing away.
Team India hasn’t been able to bring their best with both bat and ball and thus the results haven’t gone their way.
Iyer was given the captaincy baton ahead of the UK tour after his impressive leadership record in the IPL.
“We’ve made a few changes to the squad. Hardik (Pandya) and Jasprit (Bumrah) make a big difference to the team, so we’ve got a different squad here with slightly different weapons. We also need to give Shreyas a bit of time to grow into the role and allow the players to adapt to his captaincy style,” Ten Doeschate said in the post-match press conference.
Iyer scored a fine knock of 80 runs off 49 balls in the penultimate match of the series and Doeschate said the Indian captain has been leading from the front.
“I think he has started really well, leading from the front with the bat. For someone who wasn’t part of that successful team to come in and score runs in difficult situations, while still speaking up, taking accountability and working tirelessly to improve, I’ve been really impressed by how he’s gone about things.
“I’m sure he’ll get his rewards as his tenure as captain progresses,” he added.
The former Netherlands batter said they need look at things a bit holistically after series loss against England.
He concluded, “There are going to be a million opinions about it and, after losing two games against Ireland and falling 3-0 behind in England, I understand that the optics don’t look great. But it’s important to look at things holistically.”
The fifth T20I between India and England will be played at Rose Bowl, Southampton, on Saturday.
