Shreyas Iyer Quotes

As an opening batsman, it's my responsibility to spend as much time in the middle as I can and try and get big scores in the first innings so that we don't have to bat in the second innings.

I don't need to be going out reverse-sweeping for six and four straightaway. Singles can be just as important as boundaries, rotating the strike and not letting the bowlers settle.

If you are batting first as an opener, you give yourselves a couple of overs, see what's the wicket behaving, and then try to assess what a good score on that wicket would be, and then you plan accordingly.

Shot selection is very important because you don't want to lose wickets at the start and put pressure on the rest of the side.

In the middle order the game is a little more laid out for you, whether you are batting first or chasing down a score, so you are a bit more reactive to the situation in front of you. Opening up, it is pretty much a blank canvas and dependent on how you play.

If I get runs in an entertaining fashion, then great. I like to get on top of bowlers and be aggressive. I don't want to be dominated by them. Hopefully people enjoy the way I play.

When I'm at the plate, I'm not thinking about what I'm trying to do with the bat - I'm thinking about what the pitcher is trying to do with the ball.

When I grew up, I tried to score off every ball, be it a 10-over-match, a 20-over, or even a Test match. If I stay in the wicket for, say, about 30 minutes, I want to make the most of it and score maximum runs possible. You never know when you get out; try to score as much possible before that.

I love to score runs rather than defending or leaving the ball. That is an important aspect of my batting: I don't want to waste balls in any form of the game.

Obviously, when I go in at No. 11 it stands to reason that we will have a better chance of scoring runs or batting out time if the batsman at the other end takes most of the strike. That's because, as my place in the order suggests, he is a better batsman than me.

First six overs are important because if you put runs on board, it will take the pressure off the other batsmen.

I have always liked to attack the bowlers, and batting is all about getting runs.

I want to be a high-order batter in the one-day stuff, to play some long innings rather than just go in and have a swipe.

I think there's a lot of trust in being selectively aggressive I guess. Looking for your pitch you can drive, but not swinging if it's not there and not worrying about, 'Oh no, I'm down 0-2.' I feel as comfortable as I do at 0-0. I don't know.

When you start off a T20 innings you want someone who is going to be hitting the top of off stump, causing problems and being quite disciplined with the ball.

Kohli scores so freely. He's like Joe Root in that before you know it, he's on 30 off 20 balls. He is also the master of the chase - he calculates so the risks so perfectly.

What matters in the Sun-tzu universe are not positions of strength and power, but situations in which you have options, full of potential force.

Strategy is, at some level, the ability to predict what's going to happen, but it's also about understanding the context in which it is being formulated. And then you have to be open-minded to the fact that you're not going to get it right at the very beginning.

My shot selection has to be good to score big runs.

It's true there are a lot of frustrations, but it's down to me to try to put them to the side and concentrate on what's essential to me, my game and also to adapt to the opponent.

I try to take the mental aspects of every sport that I've ever played and use it toward kicking, how to react in certain situations.

You can't go into a game lax and acting like somebody isn't trying to beat you.

I think a fighter should be ready and able to adapt to anything that is in front of him in the ring.

In the U.A.E., the wickets are on the slower side. You can't play through the line; you need to take your time and be patient.

The stats suggest that I'm not a dasher. It doesn't mean I can't play the shots, but when you find a method in four-day and Test cricket that works for you, you stick with it.