India’s Shreyas Iyer “focusing on just three days” ahead of Test series against England

“The third day is always important, so I just have to focus on the three days and fourth and fifth will follow if it has to,” Shreyas, who played for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy match against Andhra, said.

FILE PHOTO: Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer during a practice session. | Photo Credit: PTI

Shreyas Iyer’s return to Ranji Trophy after five years ended up with him contributing with a run-a-ball 48 in Mumbai’s 10-wicket win against Andhra. Up next is the key Test series against England at home, set to be Shreyas’ maiden five-Test series. But “assuming it will be turning tracks” and based on the recent experiences in South Africa, the aggressive batter is only planning for “three-day” Tests starting January 25.

“To be honest, I just have to think about the three days. See, the last two Test matches we played in South Africa, it finished in three days,” Shreyas said on Monday before having a long hit at the centre-pitch of the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground. “The third day is always important, so I just have to focus on the three days and fourth and fifth will follow if it has to.”

Mumbai may have decimated Andhra with two sessions to spare but the pitch hardly had anything in it to assist the bowlers. Shreyas admitted the preparation was not similar to what he expects the conditions to be against England at home.

“It wasn’t a turning track, to be honest. I am assuming that we would be getting turning wickets against England,” he said. “But other than that it was just for my match fitness, to stay on the field as long as possible, that’s what mainly I was focusing on because especially after my injury it has been tough for me to stick on the outfield for long. So this was great practice for me.”

Having played his last Ranji game in the 2018-19 season, Shreyas – one of the stars of India’s World Cup campaign – admitted it was a challenged to return to the premier domestic tournament, albeit for just a game before he joins the squad in Hyderabad.

“It is definitely a challenge, to be honest, because you come back to the team where you don’t know how the camaraderie is working but at the same time, I have played with a lot of youngsters in the team and I know how I was when I was playing Ranji Trophy when I was at their age,” Shreyas said.

“It felt kind of nostalgic to be back and I also got great support from the coach and captain of the team because they were very flexible in terms of what I needed on the field, and I enjoyed this outing.”