“His number will not come now” - Aakash Chopra feels Shreyas Iyer needs to wait for his opportunity in Tests

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has opened up on the middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer not getting his chances in the longest format of the game. Responding to a query from a fan, Chopra stated that Iyer needs to wait for some time before rejoining the Test team.

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Iyer, who propelled his IPL franchise, Punjab Kings, to the grand finale in the 2025 season, last played Test cricket against England in February 2024 before being axed. He has played 14 Tests so far, amassing 811 runs at an average of 36.86 with one century and five half-centuries.

"No, there is no issue in batting in any case, and his number will not come now. I mean it won't come immediately. The number can come any time, but it wasn't supposed to come now because the others haven't gotten an opportunity," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Chopra stated that there are players like Karun Nair and Dhruv Jurel, who have started receiving chances of late. Moreover, he also added that players like Sarfaraz Khan are on the sidelines despite performing well for the national team.

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"If you think about it, Karun Nair has played just now. You are unable to give Sarfaraz Khan an opportunity. Dhruv Jurel is sitting outside. So when the players who are already there aren't getting full opportunities, how will Shreyas' number come? So there was no chance of Shreyas Iyer's number coming now," he said.

"Yes, I know, since he had a very good first-class season, had a good IPL, made the team win, and all of that, it's beautiful, white-ball cricket, but Test cricket, especially away from home, his time will come, but I think it won't come now. He will have to wait a little more," he stated.

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