'This will earn him a lot of respect in the dressing room' - Saba Karim praises Shreyas Iyer after first fifty as India's T20I skipper

Shreyas Iyer silenced his critics with a solid half-century in the first T20I against England at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Wednesday, July 1.

Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim opined that Shreyas must have been under pressure after replacing T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav and failing in both games in Ireland. However, the 68 runs he scored off 47 balls on Wednesday will give him belief that he is ready for international cricket and earn him a lot of respect in the dressing room, Karim stated.

"It will be a mix of both. No matter how much we talk, there was pressure on Shreyas Iyer. He had replaced a World Cup champion team's captain, and in the first two matches, that too against Ireland, India lost very unexpectedly, and he hadn't scored runs. So it was an extremely crucial knock. This will reinforce his belief that he is ready for international cricket," the former India wicketkeeper-batter responded when asked on JioHotstar whether the knock would relieve the 31-year-old.

"The biggest thing is that this will earn him a lot of respect in the dressing room. That's extremely necessary for a young captain. Many times you get consumed a lot with captaincy, but in the end, you have been kept in the team for your batting. So you need to pay attention to that, which we got to see," he added.

Irfan Pathan noted that Shreyas became the first Indian captain to score a T20I half-century in England. The former India all-rounder believes that such a stat will boost his morale, especially because the knock came after the Men in Blue had lost two early wickets.

"Shreyas Iyer has become the first Indian T20I captain to score a half-century on English soil. This hadn't happened to date. It means this will be extremely significant for Shreyas. Once such a stat reaches a player, it increases their confidence, especially as this knock came when two wickets had fallen early," he said.

"You expect your captain to do his job when he goes to bat, and do that when the team is in difficulty. We always talk about your players respecting you as a captain. That happens when you do a difficult job, and this was a difficult knock. You didn't want another wicket to fall," Pathan observed.

Irfan Pathan praises Abhishek's knock in 1st T20I vs England

The first T20I between India and England ended without a result due to rain. Only the first innings was possible, where the tourists scored 189/7 on the back of half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Shreyas. Shivam Dube also chipped in with a brilliant cameo of 42 off 21 balls.