Shreyas Iyer calls England tour 'rough patch' ahead of Zimbabwe series

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Ahead of the opening T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare, India’s T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer described the recent series setback in England as a rough stretch, adding that the team gathered crucial experience despite a disappointing tour of the UK.

Iyer’s initial series as captain proved challenging, following a 2-0 series loss to Ireland and a 4-0 defeat against England.

“First and foremost, excited to be here. This is my first time in Zimbabwe and Harare. The weather looks beautiful, the people look happy. So, looking forward to an exciting series over here. And then, yes, definitely we had a rough patch in England but lots of positives out of that. We got to know what we have to build as a team going forward, what kind of presence of mind, awareness, and adaptability we need once we step onto the field. Again, this is going to be a great challenge for us. “

“Some of us are playing for the first time, so the quicker we adapt, the better result we would be getting,” Iyer said at the pre-match press conference.

Iyer offered praise for the Sikandar Raza-led Zimbabwean outfit, noting that the hosts possess a balanced side with experienced campaigners, including players who have featured in the Indian Premier League. He emphasised that India’s primary objective remains quick acclimatisation and a series victory.

“I feel that they have an amazing team, an amazing lineup. And a couple of them also played in the IPL, so they carry immense experience, and it is going to be a great series. Everyone wants to perform at the end of the day and see to it that their team wins. And that’s the reason we are here, to win,” Iyer said.

India will hope to end their losing streak in limited-over cricket with a win against Zimbabwe in the three-match T20 series starting Thursday.

India Squad for Zimbabwe T20Is:

Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Ravi Bishnoi.

(With inputs from ANI)

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