Venkatesh Iyer continued to impress the fans and build on the faith shown in him by the selectors and the team management with a quickfire 19-ball 35-run unbeaten innings in the third T20I versus West Indies at the Eden Gardens.
Iyer’s innings comprised 4 hard-hit boundaries, and a couple of towering sixes. Iyer’s knock along with Suryakumar’s swashbuckling hitting that yielded him 65 runs off 31 balls took India to 184; their partnership was worth 91 runs off just 37 balls.
This outing from the left-handed Venkatesh Iyer has come after two more impactful performances in the last two T20Is: 24* off 13 balls, and 33 off 18. Iyer, a proper seam-bowling all-rounder, had made his T20I debut in November last year against New Zealand, following his season-turning show for KKR in the second half of the IPL 2021. Then, he made his ODI debut on the South Africa tour.
While for KKR, Iyer made a name as a power-hitting opener, he shifted himself in the middle-order in the following domestic season for Madhya Pradesh, sending a hint at the selectors and the management that he is versatile to take up the middle-order role.
Venkatesh Iyer’s rise has coincided with the dip in form and fitness of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who hasn’t played a single high-profile game since the T20 World Cup. Pandya has been recovering from a long-standing back injury because of which he has hardly bowled in the past couple of years. He will next be seen in action straightaway at the IPL 2022, making his maiden captaincy stint in the IPL for Gujarat Titans.
Venkatesh Iyer’s imposing performances in the IPL and in his short India stretch, and the balance he offered to the national side as an all-rounder, filling Hardik’s boots, has strengthened his claim to a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad for later this year.
This has got the fans trolling and mocking Hardik Pandya, who remains away from the international arena for the moment.
Here are some of the best reactions:
hardik after seeing venky s knock pic.twitter.com/14BkYCPpIC
— Shashank Rajput(Thankyou VK ) (@shashan12755892) February 20, 2022
Venkatesh Iyer is smacking Hardik Pandya out of the contention for Indian team.
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) February 20, 2022
Thank you so much for retaining Surya Kumar yadav over Hardik Pandya @mipaltan
— ANSHUMAN? (@AvengerReturns) February 20, 2022
Hardik Pandya after seeing Venkatesh Iyer’s performance in this series.#INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/CShle3uZ21
— a (@aqqu___) February 20, 2022
Hardik Pandya after seeing #venkateshiyer innings:#INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/ADeqTefPGi
— Tanishq Ganu (@smart__leaks) February 20, 2022
Venky has some serious hitting abilities. He can challenge Hardik Pandya’s spot in Indian team.
— Shivani Shukla ? (@iShivani_Shukla) February 20, 2022
#INDvWI hardik only IPL player pic.twitter.com/w7Gf0NGzJM
— विजय (@bijjuu11) February 20, 2022
If Hardik doesn’t bowl in IPL and doesn’t do much with the bat, he will be no where near to indian team squad in near future pic.twitter.com/3T4oZp3wkk
— Guru (@okguru123) February 20, 2022
Venkatesh iyer on fire with both bat and ball ?
Meanwhile hardik pandya ????#INDvsWI #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/dFPdaVnphw— Kr Amit (@iamitamu) February 20, 2022
Venkatesh Iyer all rounder performance in 3rd T20 ,perfect replacement for hardik
Hardik be like ? pic.twitter.com/joKpUIGlpR
— Shubham Jain (@Shubham09273730) February 20, 2022
hardik watching todays match pic.twitter.com/AFCkIXmvCJ
— Shashank Rajput(Thankyou VK ) (@shashan12755892) February 20, 2022
Also Read: 10 Best Tweets On Suryakumar Yadav’s Blockbuster Performance In 3rd T20I Against WI
