Shreyas Iyer, currently out of favor with the Indian Test team and not part of the central contract, has finally ended his three-year wait for a first-class century. The right-handed batsman scored 142 in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy second-round match against Maharashtra on Saturday.

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Speaking to the media, Iyer, who has not featured in India’s Test setup since India’s home Test series against England earlier this year, scored a century and made the statement to the selectors that he is eager for returning.

“I’m absolutely looking forward to getting back, but yeah, as we say, control the controllable and as always, continue to perform and participate as much as possible and also make sure my body is in the best shape. So I will make the best possible decision based on that,” Iyer told reporters at the end of the day.

This century would mean a lot to Shreyas, who had gone through bad conditions before this one. He could only score 154 runs in six Duleep Trophy innings, with two fifties and two ducks. In the Iranian Cup he compiled 57 and 8 in the two innings, and also recorded a duck in the first Ranji Trophy match against Baroda.

So far, Iyer has played 14 Test matches for India, scoring 811 runs at an average of 36.86, which includes 1 century and 5 fifties.

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Before this, the 29-year-old’s last first-class century for India was against New Zealand in Kanpur in November last year. A century like this in the Ranji Trophy would have really boosted his confidence.

Coming back after a long time, I was obviously feeling a bit down due to my injuries, but now that I have completed a century after a long time, it is a great feeling overall,” Iyer added.

For Iyer to make a comeback, he faces stiff competition from players like Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and KL Rahul, who are ahead of him in the pecking order. Iyer will need to be in the best form of his life in domestic cricket for the selectors to reconsider him.

There are also other players in the domestic circuit who are performing well but are not getting opportunities due to the current form of the Indian Test players. Since KL Rahul has not performed well for a prolonged period, he could be dropped in the future, opening the door for players like Iyer to return.

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