“I’m not just looking at the runs being made, the volume of it, or the sixes or the fours, but just the sheer presence on the ground. And that tells you a story,” Ashwin stated on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut programme. “When Shreyas Iyer is just marking his guard – every single time and for the last five games in this edition – it just looks like he’s in a zone that’s probably not conceivable for people who have not seen the game in the same way [as cricketers]. It’s called a zone. You get into phases in your career where you almost feel like [for] a year or two, you don’t put a foot wrong.
“And that occurs since you’re in a zone. Everything is ticking. Starting from what you are consuming, whenever you’re sleeping, the way you’re training. You hit a ball within the nets and also you get the identical ball whenever you play the primary one and the following.”
Iyer has scored 50, 69* and 66 in his last three innings and has an overall strike rate of 187.96 in IPL 2026 at the moment.
“His sheer presence [at the crease] is terrifying the bowlers in some ways,” Ashwin said. “And how has he carried out that? His urge for food to have the opportunity to upskill himself is sensational. I’ve performed cricket for fairly an quantity of time. I’ve interacted with a lot of cricketers. Not many have the urge for food to have the opportunity to depart what they’re good at and discover areas the place they’re weak. You would have seen a lot of careers pan out the place folks haven’t labored on their weaknesses in any respect.
“And that journey is what I suggest as good to great. I personally think Shreyas has embarked on the journey of going from being good to being great. And I’m not saying he is great. I’m saying it’s a journey. It has been said that he can’t play the short ball. He said, ‘okay, I’ll pull the short ball in a Test match and get out, but I’m not shying away from the contest’. Pulling Jasprit Bumrah front of square over midwicket for a six. That’s probably inspirational to a lot of cricketers watching the game.
“At this level of time, if he is not going to discover larger honours, it is not his loss anymore. It’s ours that we will not see him do what he is doing [for PBKS] for the Indian workforce, in nationwide colors”
R Ashwin
“And then he is hitting quick bowlers down the bottom. He has at all times been very good hitting it down the bottom. But why is he doing it? Because individuals are not bowling quick to him anymore. They know he is placing it away. And that is sensational.”
“He is growing into the role of being a leader. And I think the way he is batting, he is growing into the role of a leader that the players are looking up to, which is a lethal combination.”
Should Shreyas Iyer be in India’s T20I facet? ‘Of course, sure’
The debate has been ongoing for a whereas now. Should Iyer be in India’s T20I facet? That facet, with out Iyer in it, has received again-to-again T20 World Cups, and the argument in opposition to together with Iyer is that there isn’t any one there he may change.
“I can only say one thing. At this point of time, if he is not going to find higher honours, it’s not his loss anymore,” Ashwin stated. “It’s ours that we can’t see him do what he is doing [for PBKS] for the Indian team, in national colours.
“Look, I have a look at it barely in a different way. When any individual has to be there within the workforce, write their identify down. You simply want to decide 15. Write the very best 15 names attainable. Don’t fear about who is lacking out. In the case of Yashaswi Jaiswal, for that matter, which I’ve at all times spoken about, the man is an absolute monster. His starvation for runs is distinctive. It is additionally telling you the riches of Indian cricket in some ways.
“But is he [Iyer] good enough to be written down in a list that is being prepared for an India T20I side? Of course, yes. So you write it down in that order and not worry about who you are replacing and then figure out who is going to be a standby.”
