IND vs ENG 5th T20I: Saba Karim backs Shreyas Iyer to create his own identity

Shreyas Iyer, Saba Karim (Pic: File Pic)

In the fourth T20I match against England, Team India suffered a loss by nine wickets at the Bristol County Ground in the district of Ashley Down.

The hosts have already clinched the series, with one match yet to be played. Ahead of the fifth T20I match, former cricketer Saba Karim feels that it is time for Shreyas Iyer to take complete ownership of Team India. He then spoke about Shivam Dube's batting position.

"I feel the time has come for Shreyas Iyer to assert himself as a captain. The tactical captaincy we have seen from him in the IPL has not yet been visible in international cricket. For example, when he was batting in the middle, Shivam Dube came in at number five, I didn't understand that decision. That is not the Shreyas Iyer we know from the IPL. Logically, if he were captaining in the IPL right now, Tilak Varma would have walked in at number five instead of Shivam Dube," he said on JioHotstar.

The former cricketer feels that it will take some time for Iyer to grow as the captain of the "Men in Blue".

"Also, when you are batting in the middle as a captain, the messages you send to your partner are very important. Maybe it will take time for him to grow into the role," said Karim.

Despite the defeat in the fourth T20I match, Iyer played an unbeaten knock of 80 runs. Reflecting on his knock, Karim said that it's time for the Mumbai-born cricketer to create his own identity.

"But the biggest positive is that he scored runs with the bat. That gives a captain a lot of confidence. When your own performance is good, the captaincy automatically improves. I hope we will see that in the coming matches. I want him to create his own identity. He is ready for it. Now is the time to do it," he said.

IND vs ENG 5th T20I: Match's date and venue

The fifth T20I match between Team India and England is scheduled to be played on Saturday at The Ageas Bowl in West End.

(With PTI Inputs)