India's head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma expressed their frustration following Shreyas Iyer's unexpected announcement after the conclusion of the Nagpur opener against England on Thursday. Iyer, who contributed a crucial fifty while batting at No. 4, disclosed that he was not originally slated to participate in the series opener and only received the opportunity due to Virat Kohli's injury.

In an interview with the broadcasters after India's four-wicket victory at the VCA Stadium, where Iyer's aggressive innings helped the team recover from a challenging start in pursuit of 249 runs, he revealed that he was not part of the initial plans for the Nagpur match. He learned of his inclusion only when Rohit informed him the day before the game that Kohli had sustained a swollen knee.

This revelation astonished Star Sports analysts Kevin Pietersen and Parthiv Patel, as well as Aakash Chopra, who expressed his discontent with the team's management. Chopra reminded everyone of Iyer's outstanding performance in the 2023 World Cup, where he emerged as the second-highest run-scorer for India and the best No. 4 batsman in the tournament's history.

“I'm struggling to comprehend the fact that Iyer was not expected to play if Kohli was fit. He is the first Indian to score over 500 runs while batting at No. 4 in a World Cup. How could he be benched? And if he was not going to play, where was Kohli meant to bat? At No. 4? Surely, Gill wasn’t being moved to that position,” he tweeted.

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,…

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 6, 2025

India's Champions Trophy plan laid bare after Iyer's remark

Parthiv was left astonished by Iyer's disclosure, who subsequently chose to remain tight-lipped regarding India's strategies for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The former Indian wicketkeeper speculated that the management might be considering Yashasvi Jaiswal as an opener, with Shubman Gill positioned in the middle order.

"Notably, in the last ten ODIs for India, both Iyer and Gill have maintained an average of 60," he remarked to Star Sports. "This is why we all believed that Iyer would be a certain choice. Observing Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, one can see the deliberation over the optimal combination for the next match, as it appears India is inclined to select Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma as openers, rather than Iyer in the middle order. This presents a rather pleasant dilemma."

Should Kohli make a recovery in time for the second match on Sunday in Cuttack, it will be interesting to see whether India opts to exclude Iyer following his performance in Nagpur.

Read Also: Rohit Sharma Affirms Shubman Gill's Rise as India's Next ODI Captain

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