“He cannot set the momentum” – Shardul Thakur on star batter’s underwhelming performances in NZ vs IND 2026 T20Is

After India’s loss in the fourth T20I against New Zealand, veteran all-rounder Shardul Thakur has opined that Shreyas Iyer shouldn’t be judged as a batter based on his performances in a few games. He highlighted that the Indian captain cannot set the momentum of the game as he bats in the middle order.

New Zealand set India a 260-run target in the fourth T20I in Auckland on Friday, October 30. Shreyas scored 22 runs off 11 balls as the Men in Blue managed 172/9 in the chase, losing the game by 87 runs.

Reviewing the game on SonyLIV, Shardul was asked about Shreyas’ underwhelming returns with the bat in the T20I series against New Zealand.

“Many times, how you bat depends on the match situation, and at the number he bats, he has to react to the situation. He cannot set the momentum. The momentum gets set by the top three batters, but Shreyas Iyer comes at No. 4, and sometimes at No. 5 if the left-hander is sent in as a tactical call,” he responded.

The Mumbai Indians (MI) player pointed out that Shreyas has a challenging job as a No. 4 batter.

“You have to react based on the situation and the scoreboard. So it’s not an easy position to bat, and once you get set, you also need death batting. So, it’s a challenge as to how you adapt to the game, set the tempo of your batting, and finish as well. So he has a lot of responsibility,” Shardul observed.

Shreyas Iyer has aggregated 76 runs at an average of 19.00 in the first four T20Is against New Zealand. He scored a 28-ball 42 in the series opener but was dismissed for single-digit scores in the next two games before his 22-run knock in the fourth T20I.

“The decision-making can be up and down at times” – Shardul Thakur on Shreyas Iyer shouldering the additional responsibility of captaincy

In the same interaction, Shardul Thakur noted that Shreyas Iyer has the additional responsibility of captaincy while pointing out that his fellow Mumbaikar has done well as a leader in the Indian Premier League.

“On top of that, he is the captain. That’s an added responsibility for him these days. So the decision-making can be up and down at times. However, we have seen him doing captaincy in domestic cricket and especially in the IPL, and he has played the final with two (three) franchises. He played the final with KKR and won. He played the final with Punjab and lost,” he said.

The 35-year-old added that Shreyas has made an excellent comeback after an indifferent start to his India captaincy career and shouldn’t be judged too quickly both as a player and skipper.

“So he has the captaincy skills, and he is showing that when he is leading the Indian team. His start wasn’t good, but the comeback he has made in captaincy, and the tactics he is trying to apply in the game are working for him. Ups and downs keep happening in T20 cricket. You don’t need to judge any batter or bowler much in this format, and Shreyas Iyer too as a captain,” Shardul observed.

In a separate interaction on SonyLIV, former India batter Ajinkya Rahane pointed out that Shreyas Iyer is batting well, although he might not be making the big scores. He predicted a substantial knock from the Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain in the final T20I.

Edited by Kartik Iyer