Shreyas Iyer has had a testing couple of months, where he was not offered a central contract, and removed from the Test team. The right-handed batter failed to impress in the Duleep Trophy for India D and started his Ranji Trophy season with a duck against Baroda.
With Sarfaraz Khan amassing a hundred in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, the competition for a place in the middle-order has heated up ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024. Iyer has added his name to the contender list with a magnificent 142 runs off 190 balls to help Mumbai score 441 in the first innings against Maharashtra.
He wants to return to the Test squad. His last five-day game was against England earlier this year. After failures, he was dropped from the team midway through the five-match series and has been working on his comeback since then.
“I am keen for a comeback to Test team, but it is not in my control. My job is to perform and leave the rest to the selection committee. I want to stay fit,” Iyer told media at the end of the day’s play.
Iyer’s century in the ongoing match against Maharashtra is his first red-ball ton in three years. His previous hundred came in his debut Test against New Zealand in Kanpur in 2021..
The batter had a chance to score a century during the home matches against Sri Lanka and the tour of Bangladesh, but failed to record a three-digit mark.
“I was down with injuries. Scoring a hundred after a long time makes you feel better. You win three titles (Ranji Trophy, IPL and Irani Cup) in a year. I look at postive as winning trophies is the ultimate thing,” he added.
Maharashtra were 142-1, with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad unbeaten on 80 runs off 72 balls.
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