India's Shreyas Iyer looks on after playing a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy final cricket match between India and New Zealand at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)Shreyas Iyer, the highest run scorer for India in the Champions Trophy with 243 in 5 matches, said that he was pretty comfortable batting at number 4. Iyer had impressed in this position in the 2023 World Cup as well, scoring 530 runs but hosts India failed to clinch the big one, losing out to Australia.
“I feel I belong to the No.4 position. Whether it was in the 2023 World Cup or now in the Champions Trophy, I enjoyed the most coming as No.4. It gives me a sense of belonging and and that’s where I am able to flourish,” Iyer said in an interaction with PTI.
In the Champions Trophy, he also had to see out the spinners in the middle overs in the sluggish Dubai surfaces.
“Well, basically the foundation needs to be stronger and thankfully in my case, having played in Mumbai where wickets are grassless, it helps. Besides, I think early in the career, I learned that the footwork has to be strong to play on such tracks,” he explained.
“I will tirelessly repeat it to provide that balance in the middle order, whenever I represent India,” he promised,” he added.
Iyer will next ben seen leading the Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL season after he was released from Kolkata Knight Riders, a franchise with which he won the IPL title in 2024.
Last year, Iyer became the eighth captain to win the coveted IPL title as he led KKR to their third championship, beating SunRisers Hyderabad. Despite three seasons with the franchise, Iyer was released by KKR, following which he became the second-most IPL auction signing ever when Punjab snapped him up for Rs 26.75 crore in the auctions.
Punjab will be Iyer’s third franchise in the IPL and a third stint in a leadership role. After having started out in the IPL in 2015 with the Delhi Capitals, Iyer was raised to captaincy in the 2018 season. He also led the Capitals to their first IPL final in the 2020 season.
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