Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain and India star Shreyas Iyer had long been troubled with shorter-pitched deliveries. However, of late, the dynamic right-hander has looked much more comfortable in tackling them.
While the latest update to his skill set has definitely made him more fearsome as a batter, the 31-year-old has now opened up and revealed the process behind the shift. Speaking to Irfan Pathan on JioStar, Shreyas Iyer was quoted as saying,
“People said I would never fix my short-ball problem. That triggered me. I wanted to prove them wrong by performing well. So, I worked hard on it. Earlier, I would just take a single or try to keep the ball down. But now my mindset has changed. If I see a short ball in my zone, I am going to hit it for a six.”
He further added, “I give myself more time in the middle and face real bowlers, not just sidearm throws. The more I face bowlers, the clearer my movement becomes. I focus on creating a rhythm. Just before the bowler delivers, I try to get into my position quickly. That creates a flow. You must have seen AB de Villiers do that. Even Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have that rhythm before playing their shots. I try to do the same.”
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Apart from the mindset, Shreyas Iyer has worked on his stance and opened up more slightly, which helps get into positions to attack a short ball. This has reflected in his batting as well. Since 2024, Shreyas has gotten out just once to short-pitched deliveries in the ODI format while maintaining a boundary % of 24.32.
| Row Labels | Runs | Balls | Outs | Boundary% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BackOfALength | 61 | 59 | 2 | 10.169 |
| HalfVolley | 18 | 9 | 33.333 | |
| LengthBall | 127 | 152 | 4 | 9.868 |
| Short | 59 | 37 | 1 | 24.32 |
| Yorker | 0 | 1 |
In the IPL as well, since the past season, Shreyas Iyer has actually dominated when faced with a short-ball. His strike rate and boundary percentage are the highest across all other types of deliveries.
The graph below shows the stats since IPL 2025.
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