Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has lauded Shreyas Iyer as the best player to have played at the number four position in the last two to three years for India.

Iyer is making an international comeback in the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand starting from January 11.

Indian national team’s selectors have dropped Ruturaj Gaikwad to make a space for the vice-captain of the team, and Chopra has justified the move, saying Iyer is the best available player for the number four position.

When Iyer was recovering from the rib injury that he sustained during the Australia tour, Gaikwad did the job for India at No.4 during the home series against South Africa.

He proved his mettle at No.4 as well, despite playing as an opener in the domestic position, scoring a century at Raipur. Iyer, on the other hand, averaged almost 50 and over 50 in 2022 and 2023.

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In a video on X, Chopra backed the selectors’ decision to drop Gaikwad for Iyer, but said Rishabh Pant was the right guy to use as a No.4 in the absence of Shreyas Iyer.

“Ruturaj Gaikwad plays out of position and scores a ton but still can’t find a place in the 15-man squad. But why? Because Shreyas Iyer has returned and it makes sense because he is the vice-captain of the Indian team,” Chopra said.

“No one has played better at No.4 than him in the last 2-3 years. It is obvious. But the big question is when Ruturaj Gaikwad was played at No.4, was it not an opportunity to slot Rishabh Pant in that position? Rishabh Pant is not being dropped and he is your backup keeper.

“With KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the side, Pant will anyway struggle to find a spot. Pant didn’t play in the Champions Trophy and in the previous ODI series either. There was an opportunity in the previous series but you didn’t give him a chance.”

Although Gaikwad has failed to retain his place in the squad, Pant has been carried with the team despite not playing a single ODI since 2024.

India ODI Squad vs New Zealand:

Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Arshdeep Singh.

ODI Fixtures:

1st ODI: 11 January, Vadodara

2nd ODI: 14 January, Rajkot

3rd ODI: 18 January, Indore

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