Shreyas Iyer has been on a rollercoaster side. He scored two hundreds and three half-centuries in India's run to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup in November, then suffered a recurrence his back troubles, had his commitment to red-ball cricket questioned, lost his BCCI contract, and was not even talked about among the contenders for selection to India's 2024 T20 World Cup squad.
He also came into this IPL season having missed the last one with injury and took back the captaincy of a team that finished seventh in 2022 and 2023. After nine games, he's led Kolkata Knight Riders to second place in the points table with six wins, ahead of their contest against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on Friday.
KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, who knows Iyer from the domestic circuit in Mumbai, said he had dealt with his setbacks with a positive attitude.
"He is one of the strongest people, mentally, I have ever known, just in terms of how he has accepted certain things that have happened with him," Nayar said on Thursday. "I would have seen a lot of people cribbing and talking about it, but I haven't heard him whine about it or complain about it at all. The way he has approached life is in a positive manner - what is in front of you, you try and accept it."
Iyer missed IPL 2023 after undergoing a back surgery. He made a comeback in the Asia Cup but suffered back spasms before the match against Pakistan. He made a comeback to play the ODI World Cup, where he scored 530 runs at a strike rate of 113.25 batting at No. 4.
After scores of 31, 6, 0 and 4 not out in the Test series in South Africa, Iyer warmed up for the home series against England with a 48-run knock in the Ranji Trophy match against Andhra. But following returns of 35, 13, 27 and 29, he was dropped for the last three Tests against England. He then missed the Ranji Trophy quarter-final, despite BCCI's directive against skipping it, due to a back spasm but returned for the semi-final. After scoring 95 in the first innings of the final against Tamil Nadu, Iyer complained of back pain and missed the rest of the game. He then linked up with the KKR squad and has played game so far.
"Certain things are not in under his control but his fitness is in his control, and he is feeling a lot better now," Nayar said. "He is great on the field, he is batting longer hours, he has trained really hard. Our S&Cs (strength and conditioning) and physios have worked hard with him.
"Mentally, to have a mindset like that after being rejected or not getting his due, he has taken it very positively. Even when he talks about it, he is not negative, he understands he needs to go back and do well."
Iyer has not had a terrific time with the bat in IPL 2024, but he hasn't been poor either: he has 251 runs -third most for KKR - at a strike rate of 137.15. He has largely batted at Nos. 4 and 5 and has had the luxury of coming in after one of the most explosive opening combinations this season - Phil Salt and Sunil Narine - has done its thing.
"His mindset is to score runs, whether he plays the IPL, the Ranji Trophy or for India," Nayar said. "He looks to score runs, it has affected him but the way he has handled it, kudos to him because I can imagine a lot of people reacting very differently than he has."
The floodlights had taken full effect at the Wankhede when Iyer geared up for a final stint in the nets on Thursday. He focused on power-hitting with Andre Russell slanting the ball full and wide outside off stump from around the wicket. Iyer took a moment to reflect after facing every delivery from Russell as well as the other bowlers, before joining MI captain Hardik Pandya, KKR bowling coach Bharath Arun, and KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit - all standing right behind the nets Iyer was batting in - for a chat.
Iyer may not be part of India's T20 World Cup squad, or the reserves, but his immediate challenge is to try and lead KKR to victory at a venue where success has eluded them for 12 years.