'I Felt He Almost Cemented That Spot': Ponting Astonished Over Shreyas Iyer Lacking Fixed Role In India’s White-Ball Side

Shreyas Iyer arrived at the VCA Stadium in peak form and displayed composure and craftiness as he batted alongside Shubman Gill and aided Team India in securing a win. Iyer made a successful comeback to Team India in ODIs after being unceremoniously snubbed for quite a while. But initially, Iyer wasn't supposed to put on a show for the fans in Nagpur as he wasn't a part of the Playing XI until Virat Kohli 's injury occurred. Iyer's shocking revelation left Ricky Ponting stumped, as he could not on how Shreyas did not have a permanent spot in India's white-ball side.

Ricky Ponting Surprised Over Shreyas Iyer Not Having A Permanent Spot In India's White-Ball Side

Australian legend Ricky Ponting finds it unbelievable that Shreyas Iyer has not been assigned an indefinite place in India's white-ball team, given his excellent form and capacity to overwhelm spinners on slow subcontinental pitches.

"I've been a little bit surprised that he's been out of India's side in the last couple of years. He had a terrific World Cup back in India (2023) where he played beautifully in the middle-order and I actually felt then that he'd almost cemented that spot and made that his own. Then he had those couple of injuries, obviously injured his back and went out of the side, but his domestic season this year has been brilliant.

“It sort of coincided with what he's done since around ( IPL ) auction time going forward in domestic cricket, he has been pretty much outstanding," Ricky Ponting opined in the ICC Review.

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Ponting Believes Iyer Would Be Pivotal For India In Champions Trophy

Shreyas Iyer has been announced as a part of India's squad in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The 30-year-old was a key component of India's 2023 run to the final of the 50-over World Cup. The middle-order batter then demonstrated his skill in the format by defeating England in the opening ODI at Nagpur with 59 off 36 balls. Ponting believes Iyer will succeed in the Champions Trophy after seeing his flawless strokeplay.

“He's got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world. On those wickets — the slower, lower wickets — he's dynamic on those. We know how good a hitter of spin bowling he is and teams tend not to bowl a lot of spin at India, but at some stage it's going to come," Ponting added.

Also Read: Yashasvi Jaiswal's Champions Trophy 2025 Dream Could Possibly End After Shubman Gill's Big Update On Team Combination

[With PTI Inputs]