Adelaide: India batter Shreyas Iyer on Thursday said that returning to an upright batting stance has helped him regain confidence and consistency, allowing him to adapt better to varied conditions at home and overseas.
Speaking after India’s two-wicket loss to Australia in the second ODI, Iyer said he had been working on his technique over the past year and decided to revert to the more upright stance that he used in his formative years.
“The technique I’ve got lately is not something that I’ve changed suddenly. Since last year, I wanted to have an upright stance, especially on wickets where the bounce is a little more than expected,” Iyer, who made 61 off 77 balls, said at the post-match press conference.
“I worked with my coach on it, and it has been suiting me quite well. I grew up playing with that kind of stance, so I just thought of going back to my old method and seeing how it works out,” he added.
Iyer said being able to tweak his stance according to the conditions has become an important part of his game.
“Even in Mumbai, when we play on red-soil wickets with extra bounce, an upright stance helps. You have to keep chopping and changing because every surface is different. I’ve changed my stance several times now, and I feel I can adapt anywhere at the moment,” he said.
Iyer, who was involved in a crucial 118-run partnership with Rohit Sharma, said their focus was on building momentum on a challenging surface against a disciplined Australian attack. “Hazlewood was bowling brilliantly. The ball was seaming in and out, and it wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on at the start. We wanted to have an attacking approach but also rotate strike as much as possible. It was about ensuring we reached a total from where we could put pressure on the bowlers later,” Iyer said.