The much-anticipated ICC Champions Trophy is couple of weeks away and the predictions have started to drop. India are placed in Group A along with Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand. The Men In Blue get the tournament underway against Bangladesh on February 20 and three days later they lock horns with arch rivals Pakistan. All the India matches will be held in Dubai, a venue where wickets are expected to be slow and low.
Taking a note of the same, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels Shreyas Iyer will thrive in conditions like this. Highlighting Iyer's technique against spin, Ponting called the 30-year-old a "dynamic" option to have in such conditions.
"He's got the game that will stand up to the white-ball formats, especially in that part of the world," Ponting said on ICC Review. "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."
Iyer validated his prowess in the format with a 36-ball 59 against England in the first ODI at Nagpur on Thursday, which India won by four wickets. He was also one of the vital cogs in India's run to the final of the 50-over World Cup in 2023, with the middle-order batter scoring 530 runs to emerge the seventh-highest run-getter in the global event. In domestic cricket too, the 30-year-old has been in fine fettle this season, scoring two centuries for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Despite this Iyer is yet to cement his spot in India's white-ball side and it was only after soreness in Virat Kohli's right knee the 30-year-old was included in India's playing XI. And Ponting finds it incredulous that Iyer has not been given a permanent slot in India's white-ball side.
"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," opined Ponting.
"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," said Ponting.
Both Ponting and Iyer will be joining hands in the Punjab Kings camp in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ponting is the head coach at the franchise, while Iyer is the skipper.
-with PTI inputs
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