"Same Pattern": Shreyas Iyer's 1 Big Captaincy Flaw Brutally Exposed By Ex-India Star

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif called out Shreyas Iyer's captaincy after India's defeat to New Zealand in the fourth T20I in Auckland on Friday. New Zealand piled up 259 in 20 overs, with Glenn Phillips smashing a 46-ball hundred. After the game, Kaif claimed that Shreyas' bowling strategy and rotation of bowlers left a lot to be desired. In his assessment of Shreyas' bowling changes, Kaif pointed to his time as Punjab Kings captain in IPL 2026 to highlight that it has been a problem for a long time.

"Shreyas Iyer has lacked a bit in bowling changes and strategy. And I am not saying this just after one loss. This has been happening for a while now, and it is the same pattern," Kaif said, speaking on his YouTube channel.

"Even when he was leading in the IPL this time, PBKS gave more than 200 runs nine times. That is a big number. There is a need for a lot of work to be done here too," he added.

In their last nine T20Is against West Indies and New Zealand, India have conceded a total of more than 200 on five occasions, including twice conceding more than 250.

Kaif also called out bowling coach Morne Morkel, along with Shreyas.

"I want to ask Morne Morkel what is going on. It is the responsibility of the bowling coach to answer. The bowling coach and captain are responsible," Kaif stated.

"Shreyas Iyer also needs to learn things. Nitish is not your complete bowler. When the last five overs are left, Arshdeep only has one over remaining. Bhuvneshwar has only one left. You cannot give the 20th over to Nitish. You need to find ways to bowl him in the middle. He is your fifth or sixth bowler, not a wicket-taking bowler," he further explained.

During IPL 2026, Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings garnered a reputation of pulling off high chases. However, conceding a lot of high totals was an aspect that came back to bite them later in the tournament as they missed out on a playoffs spot.

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