They told me not to worry about the outside noise – Shreyas Iyer on his World Cup success

Shreyas Iyer has been in impeccable form in the ongoing World Cup 2023, and he smashed his second consecutive century while also scoring totals north of 70 for the fourth consecutive match now. As New Zealand came knocking on the doors, Iyer was in fine form from the first ball he faced and there was no stopping him.

From dancing down the ground frequently to knitting together a crucial partnership with Kohli first and then a tempestuous one with KL Rahul, Iyer certainly had another impressive outing in the ongoing World Cup. Talking to the broadcaster after the game, he spoke about the innings that he played and the role that Rohit Sharma has been playing for the team as the skipper.

Shreyas said, “Rohit sets the template, gives us the starts where we have to just go and carry forward from the base he gives. He is a fearless captain. You can see that in his body language and it's kind of infectious, rubs off on all the players.”

He also shed some light on the support that he has received from the management, stating, “It's pivotal, coming from the captain and coach. I didn't have a great start to the World Cup. They told me not to worry about the outside noise, we are backing you, so you just got to go out there and express yourself.”

Talking about how he has been handling pressure, Rohit said, “To be honest in pressure situations you tend to get nervous but at the same time it's also fun playing in front of so many people and if you perform they lift you up.”

He concluded by saying about how the intense net sessions have been helping him, adding, “It is definitely intense. We see to it that we play the most difficult bowler. Whenever Bumrah comes with the new ball I face him because you know it's going to be difficult and it helps you for the matches.”