India will not get a better player than Shreyas Iyer at No.4: Mohammad Kaif

The biggest problem for India from quite some time now has been the number four batsman in the line-up.

Former Indian batsman, Mohammad Kaif, who is currently the assistant coach at Delhi Capitals is of the opinion that Shreyas Iyer is tailor-made for the number four spot.

During an interview with Akash Chopra on his YouTube show ‘Akash Vani’, the 39-year-old said that he enjoys Shreyas’ batting abilities and feels it's the right time for him to cement his place in the Indian national team. 

"I am a huge fan of Shreyas Iyer. Firstly, he has come out of domestic cricket, having played many years there. He has not got an opportunity too quickly for India. He has played IPL for a number of years, scored many runs, then only his name came. His name has come at the right time because he is hungry. He is bored of playing domestic cricket and wants to play for India," said Kaif on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel. 

"He is mentally very sorted, has a great understanding of his game and his role. He doesn’t get angry easily and thinks a lot before speaking. He has gained a lot from captaining in the IPL because you learn to take responsibility. Since he has become captain, he has become a better player. India will not get a better player than Shreyas Iyer at No.4," Kaif added.

Having being assigned the captaincy of Delhi Daredevils (then) in the middle of the 2018 IPL season, Shreyas has done a good job. Leadership and responsibility is something that the Mumbaikar has developed over the last two years and that shows his confidence to play at the highest level in India.

"Captaincy made a huge difference (with Iyer)," thinks Kaif. "You won’t believe we have had a lot of meetings where we didn’t have the captain, we did the meeting and didn’t call the captain. Because he doesn’t like to talk too much. He knows about his game; he takes a little bit of information but doesn’t go too much in-depth. So, we all understand that he is not a captain who should be made to sit and lectured for two hours," the 39-year-old said.

Shreyas Iyer had a successful IPL season last year, scoring 463 runs in 16 matches, leading Delhi Capitals as the second runners-up.

“We figured out that we need to give him a little freedom and let him focus on the game. Whatever load we can take from outside, we will take. Whatever information Shreyas needs, he will take from us. He is gaining a lot from that because he is coming out of his comfort zone. When you are the captain, you also need to carry the team. He was not used to that but in the IPL, he got himself out of that comfort zone," Kaif remarked.