Shreyas Iyer asked to 'put ego in pocket' after dismissal against Hazlewood: 'Perfect example of not reading situation'

Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody advised Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer to keep his ego ‘inside his pocket’ after the right-handed batter gave away his wicket to Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Josh Hazlewood in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season on Thursday in Mullanpur. The hosts capitulated in front of a jam-packed crowd to be bundled out for 101 inside 15 overs. RCB had no trouble in chasing the total down to progress to the final, which will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3. IPL 2025, PBKS vs RCB: Shreyas Iyer has been advised to ‘put ego inside his pocket’(PTI)

Shreyas himself played a horrendous shot and his dismissal was even criticised by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on commentary. Even Punjab Kings' head coach Ricky Ponting was seen having an animated chat with Shreyas inside the dressing room after his dismissal.

Shreyas played an ugly slog off the bowling of Hazlewood on the fourth ball of the third over. The right-hander looked for the big hoike on the legside but the extra bounce got the better of him. Jitesh Sharma ended up taking a simple catch and Shreyas walked back after scoring 2 runs off 3 balls.

Hazlewood has a remarkable record against Shreyas as he has dismissed him on four occasions in T20s. The Punjab Kings captain averages just 2.75 against the Australian quick.

“At times, you need to put your ego in your pocket and just move forward. To me that was the perfect example of not reading the situation – trying to overcome something that has been a darkness in the past instead of just swallowing your pride and just moving on by just accumulating,” said Moody on ESPNCricinfo ‘Timeout’.

“You only had to see Hazlewood out. It was a simple thing – see him out and look to dissect the rest of their attack,” he added.

‘He totally misread the game’

Moody also said that Shreyas was guilty of misreading the game and he should have done better knowing that he doesn't have a good record against the Australian pacer in the shortest format of the game.

“The first ball he played and missed – the perfect line that you’d expect Hazlewood to bowl. He sort of played at it, but didn’t really want to play at it. And then, that third ball he got out,” said Moody.

“To me, he totally misread the game situation and his own situation. Yes, he would be aware that Hazlewood has had him a few times in the past. He would know the exact numbers,” he added.

In the IPL 2015 season, Shreyas Iyer has registered 516 runs at an average of 46.91 and a strike rate of 170.86.

Punjab Kings will now take on the winner of the match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3.

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