When Rahul Dravid got annoyed at Shreyas Iyer

During his first-ever India A match against Australia, Shreyas Iyer played with his natural flair. During the last over of the first day, where other players would have taken it easy and played it safe, Iyer went for a risky shot. The ball went up in the air, but luckily went all the way for a six.

However, coach Rahul Dravid judged Iyer’s temperament with that one shot. Recalling the incident on an episode on Cricbuzz, Iyer says, “He came to me later and took me to task for playing such a risky shot. I didn’t realise what the big deal was at that time. It was only much later that I realised why he said those things to me.”

Iyer didn’t make it to the Indian team for a very long time, and this was when he was performing exceedingly well at the domestic level. He even scored 1,300 runs during one Ranji Trophy season.

That’s when Iyer decided to cut to the chase and speak directly to the selectors. Iyer recalls, “They told me that I didn’t have the right temperament for international cricket. They didn’t select me because they were afraid that I would lose my mind if I came up against a very tough bowler.”

Iyer says that he was filled with anger and resentment for many months. He even became extremely bitter, to the point of being rude. But slowly, things started to shift. Over time, Iyer realised that he had to improve his mindset if he was going to make it to the Indian team. Rather than skills, the battle for Iyer was about conquering his temperament and finding a match-winner’s mindset.

FATHER’S SUPPORT
Parents have a big role to play in any success story. This is especially true for cricketers because they start training very young, and success without parents’ support is difficult.

But there are supportive parents such as Shreyas Iyer’s father — the man who went to every length to ensure that his son got the success he deserved.

Speaking to the cricket website, Shreyas’ father recalls, “When Shreyas was four years old, we played cricket in the house with a plastic ball. Even then, he was middling the ball in the way that convinced me that the boy had real talent. So, we did everything in our power to make sure he can fulfil his potential.”

In fact, when Shreyas’ performance dipped during his U-16 days, his father decided not to give up. He called all his son’s coaches and mentors to figure out what was going wrong. 

He says, “When one coach told me that my son has talent, but he has lost focus along the way, I got a little worried. I thought he’s either fallen in love or got mixed up in the wrong crowd!”

At a time when mental health awareness was very low, Shreyas’ father decided to do the right thing. Instead of cracking down on his son and giving him a stern talking to, he took Shreyas to a sports psychologist.Iyer could have been the ideal No.4 that India missed during the 2019 World Cup. However, the 25-year-old ensured that he made the most of the chances post India’s exit from the tournament. In the 18 ODIs, Iyer has played for India; he has notched up 748 runs at 49.9 and a strike rate of 100.8. He is also making a mark in the T20Is and could play a vital role with the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.