Shreyas Iyer has shown issues against good-length balls lately. Image Credits: AFP
Shreyas Iyer’s improvements against short balls are well known, with his open stance giving him more chance to clear his front leg. In the last two years, he has been aggressive and takes on the short balls with more attacking intent.
However, Iyer seems to have developed a new pattern in his dismissals, with good and back-of-a-length deliveries undoing him. This started midway through IPL 2026, and he was again dismissed on a back-of-a-length delivery against Afghanistan in Dharamsala.
The new dismissal pattern of Shreyas Iyer
Lengths of 6-8 meters, and occasionally 8-10 meters, have been the main reason for his dismissals in recent times. In IPL 2026, Shreyas Iyer had an average of just 22.50 and a strike rate of 134.33 on good-length deliveries against pacers.
He lost his wicket as many as four times, the most among all lengths, in 90 balls. On the back-of-a-length deliveries, Iyer did reasonably well with one dismissal, but played around 36.36% false shots.
Shreyas Iyer has been dismissed multiple times on good-length balls
The biggest reason for this issue was his poor trigger movement, as he started moving sideways with his front foot shuffling across. Hence, his back leg started going from middle to leg stump, and Iyer didn’t know where his off stump was.
While this helped him pull and duck bouncers, it completely ruined his alignment against good lengths outside off stump. His dismissals against Mumbai Indians and RCB were precisely due to this issue, as his bat path was blocked.
His difficulty in covering the corridor line was evident, as one delivery produced a faint edge while another beat him altogether. On both occasions, the ball just straightened at the last moment and moved away from him after pitching.
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Fortunately for Iyer, he corrected it by the last league game and started moving his back foot towards the middle and off stump. It helped him cover the channel, and he went on to hit his maiden IPL century.
The pattern in international cricket
Shreyas Iyer’s issues with good-length deliveries have remained in ODIs as well. If Iyer played with faulty foot movement in IPL, he has often fallen while attempting pull shots in international cricket lately.
In 2026 ODIs, he has been dismissed twice on pull shots, and once each while trying to drive or work towards the off-side region against pace. Spinners are yet to remove him.
Interestingly, all four dismissals have come from either good lengths or short of good lengths. The lines were outside off stump on all four occasions.
Take his dismissal against Afghanistan, for instance. Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi bowled just short of good length outside off, to which Iyer tried to manufacture a non-existent pull, only to get caught at mid-on.
Shreyas Iyer has found himself in trouble on pull shots
His wicket against Kristian Clarke in Indore was similar, where he was desperate to play a pull shot and ended up giving a catch to mid-on. Even while driving, Iyer has often found the fielders and given straightforward catches.
So, this is clearly a new pattern in Iyer’s dismissals. He doesn’t get into trouble with short balls anymore and knows a thing or two to tackle them, but good lengths can result in his dismissals.
How Iyer might get into trouble in 2027 World Cup
After this home series against Afghanistan, India will play crucial ODI rubbers in England and New Zealand. In both countries, the ball will swing relatively more for a longer period from good-length areas, particularly in New Zealand.
The pitches have changed drastically across venues, with more pace and bounce for fast bowlers than before. The seam movement lasts longer, and more pacers operate in the middle overs.
Shreyas won’t be a sitting duck in these conditions. In fact, he corrected a similar alignment issue towards the end of IPL 2026 and looked far more balanced at the crease.
However, Iyer will face far more challenging deliveries from the same length in overseas conditions against the same kind of bowlers. The time to adjust won’t be as much as he usually gets in subcontinent conditions, and those false shots will result in more dismissals.
Then, eventually, his issues will be more exploitable in World Cup 2027 in South Africa, where pitches at most venues always have assistance for pacers. The extra bounce off good length can become Iyer's biggest problem since he tends to play more with hands on outside off stump deliveries.
Any lateral movement could also be tricky for him to manage with this technique or improper foot movement he showed midway through IPL 2026. The pitches will be drastically different to what he has mostly played on in the last couple of years.
Shreyas Iyer has always found ways to score runs in this format and might do the same again. But ultimately, his issues will be exploited more, and he needs to do better on good-length balls.
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