India secured a comfortable 4-wicket win against England in the opening ODI of the three-match series, with several key players stepping up to deliver strong performances. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer led the batting efforts, scoring 87 and 59 runs respectively, while captain Rohit Sharma struggled once again. The team also felt the absence of Virat Kohli, who missed the match due to a knee injury, and saw Yashasvi Jaiswal make his ODI debut. However, the biggest surprise came after the game when Shreyas Iyer revealed that he was not initially included in the playing XI.
Speaking with the broadcaster after the match, Iyer disclosed that he was not part of the original lineup, and it was Kohli’s injury that paved the way for his inclusion. His revelation caught many off guard, as he has been one of India’s most dependable middle-order batters.
Former cricketer-turned-analyst Aakash Chopra expressed his disbelief over the fact that skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir had initially planned to leave Iyer out of the team. The decision to exclude such a consistent performer before Kohli’s injury forced a change has raised questions about the team’s selection strategy.
Aakash Chopra wrote on X, “Trying to wrap my head around the revelation that Iyer wasn’t likely to play if Kohli was fit. He’s the first Indian to score 500+ runs batting at 4 in a World Cup. 2023. How could you bench him?? And if he wasn’t going to play, where was Kohli supposed to bat? At 4? Surely, Gill wasn’t getting pushed to 4.”
Trying to wrap my head around the revelation that Iyer wasn’t likely to play if Kohli was fit.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 6, 2025
He’s the first Indian to score 500+ runs batting at 4 in a World Cup. 2023. How could you bench him??
And if he wasn’t going to play, where was Kohli supposed to bat? At 4? Surely,…
Now the big questions is – who will get dropped when Virat Kohli will come back in the team?
