New Delhi, India
Team India is set to play West Indies in three ODIs and five T20Is, in the Caribbean island, with the tour opener to take place on Friday (July 22). In Rohit Sharma's absence, Shikhar Dhawan will take charge of the ODI side whereas Hitman will reclaim his position during the five T20Is.
In the year 2022, India have had several captains such as Rohit, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah whereas Dhawan will also join the list, having already captained a second-stringed side during the Sri Lanka tour last year. Ahead of the WI series, former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris feels Shreyas Iyer is also a future captaincy candidate provided he cashes in on his opportunities and gets rid of his short-ball struggles.
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Styris agreed that the forthcoming WI tour can be a do-or-die condition for Iyer, who hasn't done anything extraordinary since his return in India colours after IPL 2022. The New Zealander also termed the star batter as a captaincy choice and told Sports 18, "One hundred percent, what I really like about Shreyas Iyer is the leadership quality that he possesses. I think he is a real possibility to be a captain as well for India. For that reason, I would like to see him in and even given more and more opportunities around this squad."
"What I don't like is that there is no secret about Shreyas Iyer now. He has real problems with the short ball. I think you will see a lot of teams attack him with their quick bowlers, attack him at the body with the bouncers, under the armpit, if you like, because I am not sure he has found a way," the former cricketer added.
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Iyer is part of India's ODI and T20I squad for the WI tour and will be eager to come up with consistent performances to cement his place in the white-ball setup. With the T20 World Cup to be held later this year, in Australia, the middle-order batter needs to be on his toes or he will miss being part of the squad for the trip Down Under.