Nayar says a successful New Zealand tour could help Shreyas Iyer shrug off Suryakumar comparisons

Former India batting coach Abhishek Nayar said a successful tour of New Zealand could help Shreyas Iyer put comparisons with Suryakumar Yadav behind him, with India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand starting in Christchurch on October 22. Nayar made the comments on JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Not Out’.

Iyer succeeded Suryakumar as India’s T20I captain after Suryakumar led India to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year, and his captaincy has faced scrutiny since the change. India’s results under Iyer have been mixed, with defeats against Ireland and England followed by wins in Zimbabwe, the Asia Cup in Japan, and a victory against Afghanistan at home. The recent five-match series against the West Indies finished 2-2, the final match having been washed out by rain. Questions about Iyer’s batting persisted early in his captaincy: he has scored 590 runs at an average of 34.7 and a strike rate of 152.45, including a fluent hundred in the series opener against the West Indies in Lucknow, but he failed to cross 50 in the next four matches.

Nayar, who has worked closely with Iyer, argued the comparison with Suryakumar must consider where those matches were played and the different tours each captain has faced. “It's not about whether he's worthy or not in comparison to Surya, because, at that time, India played a lot of series in India. They didn't travel a lot,” Nayar told JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Not Out’. “After Shreyas Iyer took up captaincy, they went to England, and now they're going to New Zealand. So, a lot of the T20Is have been played away from home, in Zimbabwe and Japan. I remember that, building up to the T20 World Cup, we were playing a lot more at home and in subcontinental conditions than away. So, that comparison is out of the way.”

India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand begins in Christchurch on October 22. The remaining matches are scheduled in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton. The series concludes on November 1.

Nayar said a series win in New Zealand would carry particular weight for Iyer within the team because of the challenges of foreign conditions. “Whenever you go to New Zealand and win in foreign conditions, I think that captain will feel in control of the team and earn the respect of everyone around him, because that's where you are judged the most,” he said. “So, if you win, like they say, it's a star on your chest, going to New Zealand and winning the series. It didn't happen in England, but it happened here, if it does happen. So, it will be one of those things for him personally, that 'I can win abroad as well' as a captain.”

Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara echoed the view that success in New Zealand would bolster confidence across formats. “When you go to New Zealand and defeat the New Zealand team, it's a big achievement. Performing well in overseas conditions for the Indian team in any format, whether it is ODIs, T20Is, or a Test match, boosts your confidence,” Pujara said. “If you do well there as a captain or as a team, your confidence goes up, that you can perform well not just in Indian conditions, but anywhere in the world.”

India Squad for New Zealand T20I series: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

The series concludes on November 1 and offers Iyer an opportunity to secure a significant result away from home.