Former India cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar feels Shreyas Iyer’s magnificent return to international cricket is a perfect example for seniors to play domestic cricket. Iyer marked his return after a long gap of six months in the first ODI against England on Thursday, February 6 in Nagpur.

The right-handed batter had an impressive comeback as he played a marvellous knock of 59 off 36 balls, smashing nine fours and two sixes. Iyer helped India recover from a precarious position of 19/2 and got involved in a 94-run stand with Shubman Gill off just 64 balls for the third wicket.

Following his innings, Sanjay Manjrekar was full of praise for the star batter, who spoke about the impact of domestic cricket on his technique.

“The way he batted today, just the technique and the ball hitting that was happening, it was very very compact, and a very good innings like a well-oiled machinery. If domestic cricket has helped him to just get into the groove, then all the arguments that we are hearing about the big names not playing domestic cricket, here’s an example. Because Shreyas Iyer, the way he played, I’m sure there is some connection with him playing those domestic matches,” said Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo.

Iyer’s prolific domestic season

Iyer didn’t have a memorable beginning to the domestic season as he could only score 154 runs from six innings in the Duleep Trophy. However, he quickly bounced back to form in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 480 runs from seven innings including two centuries.

He also slammed 345 runs from eight innings at an average of 49.28 in Mumbai’s victorious campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 and also led them in the final. The 30-year-old carried his form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well scoring 325 runs from five innings with two hundreds.

Iyer reaped the rewards of his domestic performance in the first ODI against England as he looked extremely comfortable at the crease and took on the English bowlers without any trouble. His innings along with crucial knocks from Shubman Gill (87) and Axar Patel (52) helped India win by four wickets.

Following his incredible knock, Iyer made the shocking revelation that he wouldn’t have been a part of the playing XI had star batter Virat Kohli not got injured. The statement has left both fans and pundits puzzled about management’s treatment of Iyer.