(According to reports, Shreyas Iyer was called up to the Indian squad for the fourth Test against Australia in Dharamsala. This interview was taken before his call-up)

“I want to be like Zlatan.”

There are many ways to take that statement. As crazy as Zlatan? As brilliant as Zlatan? As full of himself as Zlatan? As confident as Zlatan? As Zlatan as Zlatan?

But mostly, it is not the kind of statement that you expect an Indian cricketer to make. That “inspiration” kind of space seems perennially reserved for Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli if you are a batsman. Sunny Gavaskar is now the respected legend but not an inspiration anymore.

However, at 22, Shreyas Iyer is at an age where he likes to defy expectations. He is at an age where he believes that nothing is impossible for him and perhaps that is where Zlatan Ibrahimovic fits right in.

“After reading that book (Zlatan’s autobiography), I have reached the understanding: No one is big, no one is small. Everybody is equal for me. No one is perfect in this world,” said Iyer during a chat at his residence in Worli.

“Obviously, if I could pick up, I would emulate the way he talks in interviews and well, maybe not in the exact way but the confidence he has. Even if I am talking to a random person, I will see to it that I am on top of him. Self belief really matters – a lot,” added Iyer.

Ready to hit prime time

When the BCCI contracts were announced a few days back, many thought that perhaps the Board would look at the young talent they want to groom and award them with a contract too. Prime among those young talents was Iyer – an attacking batsman who has served Mumbai well in the Ranji season.

In the year before last, he scored 1321 runs — just 95 short of VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a Ranji season — at 73.38 to help Mumbai win their 41st title. This year, he scored 725 (topping the most runs scored charts for his team) at an average of 42.64 as his team lost in the final. The performances that have been good enough to get into the India ‘A’ team but breaking into the senior XI requires something exceptional and he knows that.

“So when I first got a call-up to the India A team, Rahul Dravid came up to me and struck up a conversation. I had thought I would do that but I was really surprised. I was literally shocked to see him come to me and just talk like it was very normal. But what he said stays with me to do this day: ‘You are a youngster, you have good talent… just see to it that you express yourself in the middle and when you get an opportunity, make it count.’”

It was simple and to the point. Dravid has been around long enough to know that piling on the pressure isn’t going to do the player any good.

Dravid, who also coaches the U-19 and India A teams, further added: “Just because you have had a good first Ranji season, doesn’t mean that you will have a good second one as well.”

For Iyer, it was a ‘stress buster.’ It allowed him to go out and play without worrying about the results.

“It took the pressure off in a sense. If such a big batsman could put it like that then this is something I shouldn’t worry about too much either. So I took that and got 1321 runs in the second season.”

In the tour game against Bangladesh, he helped himself to a century and then followed it up with an even bigger knock – an unbeaten 202 against the Australians at the Cricket Club of India. The Australian attack was missing Starc and it was their first match after landing in India but still, the confident and poise of Iyer’s knock had an immediate impact.

His 202 came off 210 balls including 27 fours and 7 sixes. The next highest scores were 74 (K Gowtham) and then, 36 (P Panchal) as India A scored 403.

“They made us field a lot, I even bowled 12 overs. So when we got the chance to bat, I wanted to keep them in the field for as long as possible. That was my main target. It was a nice wicket to bat on, you can’t compare it with what the teams have had to play on in the Test series, but I wanted to get even,” said Iyer.

Cry me a river

The memories of age group cricket are not a distant memory yet and he still remembers how difficult it was for him.

“At the U-16 level, he (dad) never thought I would be able to continue playing cricket because that patch was really bad for me. I wasn’t scoring runs in the selection matches and I was dropped from the team,” said Iyer.

But then the runs came back and he has been at it since.

“My first century came at the age of 18 for Mumbai team. First innings of that match, I was out for 0 (first ball). Again, started crying in the room but next day I had to bat because we had to follow on. I batted the whole day – got 110 not out off 294 balls. I remember because it was my first century,” said Iyer calmly.

That wasn’t the only time he cried because of cricket.

“In the U-19 World Cup quarters against England, I thought I would get the chance to play but then, on the ground, I was literally shocked,” said Iyer. “I wasn’t picked and I was literally crying. Tears started flowing out. From that point on, I had decided that I will prove to everyone that I am a strong person and I can play big cricket. So that was the changing point I would say.”

His Ranji debut was another such moment.

“I still cry. On debut, I got 7 and 1 – the umpire gave me a wrong decision. I came back to the dressing room, went straight to the wash room and started crying.”

For Iyer, crying is a release. He gets his emotions out of the system and then gets going. But on the field, he’s always got his game face on.

Aiming high

Iyer also wants to make sure he doesn’t get bogged down. He tries to keep things simple.

“I realised that you don’t have to think much, you have to keep everything simple. You might have difficult times, you might have ups and downs, but you just have to stick to your basics,” said Iyer with a monk-like calmness. “Of course, keeping things simple can sometimes prove to be very complex. But we have to try.”

And where did he pick that up from? Zlatan again?

“No, this is from AB de Villiers’ book. I am reading that right now. I pick up a few things, here and there. If you train hard, work hard and if you don’t doubt yourself, these things don’t matter. If you do the right things, success will come. But if you spend too much time thinking about it, you will get side-tracked. You just have to stick to your routines and follow what you have been doing in the nets.”

There clearly is an attempt to do things right. To make sure that cricket remains his priority but there is also the attempt to go with the flow. As he said, it is a pretty complex place to be in.

“I see to it that I am training – if I feel like training. I don’t force myself. If I feel like playing Playstation, I will do that. I don’t run from one place to another – I take one decision at a time,” said Iyer, shifting into Zen mode.

“I am trying to keep things simple and you know what, keeping things simple is really complex. Everyone thinks it will happen but it is complicated. I still trying to… I am just at the start of my journey of keeping things simple.”

Not about luck

For now, the innings against Australia has given him innate confidence in his ability.

“I don’t have to be afraid of anyone. When I batted against Australia and remained not out – it gave me immense confidence. If I could do it against them, then I can bat against anyone. In the IPL too, we face some of the best bowlers in the world. So now, the confidence is there.”

And at the highest level, it is often all about confidence. And Iyer recognises that. He also understands that he can’t afford to slack off, if he wants to make it to the Indian senior team because even if you do get lucky with a call-up, only the skills will actually keep you there.

“You can’t bring luck into cricket,” said Iyer. “I want to survive because of my skills, not because of luck.”