'He just stands and hits them out of the park' - KL Rahul lavishes praise on Shreyas Iyer ahead of IPL 2022

Ahead of the IPL 2022 edition, KL Rahul has opened up about Shreyas Iyer’s batting strengths. Rahul will be the skipper of Lucknow Super Giants – one of the two new franchises in the upcoming 2022 IPL season.

LSG will begin their tournament against fellow debutants Gujarat Titans on March 28 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. On the other hand, the runners-up of the last season, Kolkata Knight Riders, will be led by new skipper Shreyas Iyer. KKR will take on the defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the season opener.

Meanwhile, LSG skipper Rahul has lauded Iyer for his hitting range. To note, KKR bagged the services of Iyer for a whopping INR 12.25 crore in the mega auction. The 27-year-old, who was an integral part of the Delhi Capitals previously, was also named the captain of two-time IPL winners for the upcoming edition.

He is a really good player of spin: KL Rahul on Shreyas Iyer

“He is a really good player of spin. He is one of the players who doesn’t really step out too much, he is a tall boy so has a long reach. He just stands and hits them out of the park. This really puts the spinners under pressure. That’s something I dread when he plays against our team in the IPL,” Rahul said during an interaction in Red Bull Cricket Room on Clubhouse.

Iyer had recently revealed that he is willing to bat at any position for his new franchise. “You can’t basically portray yourself as an anchor. It can differ as well. On a given day, I can be a power-hitter and there can be some other player who can play an anchor role,” he had said.

The 27-year-old has played 87 IPL matches in which he has scored a total of 2375 runs at a good average of 31.67. The right-handed-batter has a strike rate of 123.96 and can hit a long ball easily. Iyer has stuck 16 fifties in biggest cricketing league of the world.