Young, confident and hard to ignore

"Be so good that no one can ignore you!!"

Shreyas Iyer is living up to his WhatsApp status quite literally. The 20-year-old has followed an impressive maiden first-class season with an even more notable debut in the Indian Premier League.

The Delhi Daredevils batsman has opened the innings in nine of the ten games so far and is the only uncapped batsman in the 300-run club this season. He sits in the company of some of the established names in world cricket. The achievement is the first tick in the box for Iyer.

"At the start of the IPL, I had set a target that I should reach at least 300 runs. Now that I have reached there, with four more matches in hand, I would love to add a few more. Next target is 400 now," Iyer says in a chat with ESPNcricinfo.

In his first ten games of the IPL, Iyer has faced some of the most fearsome pace bowlers. Barring the two Mitchells, Johnson and Starc, from Australia, he has dealt with the likes of Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Trent Boult and Lasith Malinga quite well. It reflects in the fact that two of his fifties this IPL have been scored against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.

Asked which was the toughest over or spell he has faced so far, Iyer responded with a straight face. "I don't remember any over which was tough for me." He isn't joking. Prod him further about the most challenging bowler he has faced and the batsman thinks for almost half a minute. Then comes the answer.

"If I have to pick one, I would say it was Sandeep Sharma. He swings it both ways so you need to take some time to settle," Iyer says, referring to the over that he faced against Kings XI Punjab early on in the season.

Iyer's highest score - 83 - came against against Mumbai Indians, where he dealt with Malinga cautiously but went after Harbhajan Singh's offspin. Iyer stressed that he had little problems while picking the ball coming off Malinga's slinging action.

"We all know he is a really good bowler," he says. "I visualised before the game. I have heard that he becomes difficult to bat against because of his round-arm action, but it wasn't difficult for me to pick him. The only thing is that he bowls a good slower one, that's the only problem I faced. Picking his release point wasn't a big problem for me."

Mention Steyn to him and the confident eyes light up. "I had always dreamt of facing Steyn. It was a dream come true and I really enjoyed the way I played him. Steyn is the fastest bowler I have faced so far," he says.

Iyer hasn't faced Mitchell Johnson as yet. He was dismissed before Johnson came on to bowl in the first game while the bowler didn't feature in the return leg when Iyer scored his third fifty of the season.

The only time Iyer faltered against pace and swing was against Royal Challengers Bangalore when he was trapped in front off first ball he faced from Mitchell Starc. Iyer maintains he was unfortunate to have been adjudged lbw. "That wasn't out. It was going down the leg. He was quick, had some swing in the ball but I was not out," he says.

Despite having overcome most of the bowlers he has faced so far, Iyer's real challenge has been against himself. "IPL is a mental game. No matter how your technique is, it all boils down to how strong mentally you are. If you are tough mentally, the result will go your way," Iyer says.

He cites an example at the start of the season. In his debut IPL game, against Chennai Super Kings, playing in front of a huge crowed, he admits the occasion got to him. Not once before that day at Chepauk had he played in front of "a stand full of spectators, at the most".

"There wasn't much pressure on me but I was really nervous playing in front of such an arena, in front of so many people. I was so nervous in Chennai, didn't really know how to approach the game," Iyer admits.

But before the next game against Rajasthan Royals, he figured out a plan that has helped him since then. Once Daredevils coach Gary Kirsten "walked up to" him "after the first game" and asked him if was willing to open the innings, Iyer decided to give himself some time at the start of the innings. To get used to the conditions and to settle nerves.

"I realised it's nothing big. You just have to play your natural game, stick to the basics. I realised even if I play some dot balls initially, I can make up for it later. I had a slow start against Royals and then I recovered well," he says.

His 30-ball 40 gave him the confidence that he belonged at the highest stage. Since then, he hasn't looked back, emerging as Daredevils' batting mainstay along with captain JP Duminy.

In the first month of the IPL, Iyer has been able to analyse his game better and has zeroed in on the improvements needed in his batting. "I get fours easily but I play a lot of dot balls. Instead of those dot balls if I could get some singles it would be great for the team and for me too. So that's the biggest task for me at the moment, playing with soft hands," he says.

Iyer admits that besides the presence of his coach Pravin Amre in the Delhi Daredevils dugout, he has been making the most of the opportunity to interact with the seasoned international cricketers. While he hasn't been able to pick brains of those from other teams, he has been learning tricks of the trade from seniors including Duminy, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh.

Duminy sits next to him on Daredevils' bus rides, while Yuvraj and Zaheer have been available whenever he wishes to discuss anything with them. "Zaheer paaji is really good in giving tips. He knows how a bowler's mind plays, so before every game I approach him how this guy will bowl at me and he advises me. Good to learn from them," Iyer says.