Middle order batter Shreyas Iyer was one of the shining lights for India during the recently concluded Champions Trophy. Iyer played a key role for India by performing consistently with the bat on difficult batting wickets.
However, Shreyas Iyer was surrounded by controversy after he refused to wear the white coat after India’s Champions Trophy 2025 win. During the post-match presentation ceremony after the final, the winning Indian team was presented with the traditional white coat.
The coats were presented by the BCCI president Roger Binny. But when Iyer came on the stage to receive his coat, he didn’t wear it from Binny and just decided to take it away. Later, he wore the coat on his way off the stage.
Also read: Shubman Gill picked as ICC Men’s Player of the Month for February 2025
Watch: Shreyas Iyer refuses to wear white coat from Roger Binny
Chad shreyas iyer 🗿
Bcci contract se remove krne waale 🤡 pic.twitter.com/mTQLw4wLgs— lucifer ded (@f_z1901) March 11, 2025
Iyer played a vital knock in the final against New Zealand and scored 48 off 62 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. He formed an important partnership of 61 runs with Axar Patel to revive India’s innings after a stutter in the middle overs.
Shreyas Iyer’s terrific Champions Trophy campaign
Shreyas Iyer had a terrific tournament and was India’s most consistent batter throughout the tournament. The right-hander scored 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60 and with 2 half-centuries.
Iyer finished as the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament and India’s highest run-getter. Batting at No. 4, he took India out of trouble in almost every game of the tournament. Apart from the game against Bangladesh, he contributed in almost every match of the tournament.
Iyer scored forties each in the semi-final and the final against Australia and New Zealand respectively. While he failed to breach the fifty-run mark, his contributions were extremely vital in taking India to victory in crunch games.
The pitches in Dubai usually got difficult to bat on during the middle overs, and it is the time when Iyer would make his way at the crease. He batted splendidly against both the fast bowlers and the spinners and showed maturity by taking his time on a pitch difficult for batting.
Shreyas Iyer’s strong comeback
Iyer endured a tough time as he was removed from BCCI’s central contracts list in earlier stages of 2024. The decision was taken by the board as Iyer had not prioritised domestic cricket and failed to appear for a few Ranji Trophy games despite being fit.
But a few months later, he bounced back strongly and led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL 2024 title. The victory instilled the confidence in him and he started working harder.
Iyer was earlier dropped from India’s Test team and never really considered for T20Is which meant that the ODIs were the only format where he could make his mark at the highest level.
With India playing a limited no. of ODIs over the last year, his role in international cricket diminished. But he ensured to make his mark in the Champions Trophy by playing a key role in India’s win, which has helped in reviving his career.
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