Search interest around Indian cricketers Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya has surged in India, with both players appearing among the country’s trending sports searches on Google.
According to the Google Trends, “Shreyas Iyer” crossed 2,000+ searches and was up 500%, while “Hardik Pandya” crossed 1,000+ searches and was up 75%.
The spike comes amid a busy period for Indian cricket, with the national selectors meeting on September 16 to finalise squads for the upcoming West Indies white-ball series. Hardik’s availability and Shreyas Iyer’s absence from the ODI series because of Asian Games commitments have been among the selection talking points.
Why Shreyas Iyer is trending on Google
Shreyas Iyer’s search interest comes shortly after India secured a 2-0 lead in the T20I series against Afghanistan under his captaincy.
India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets in the second T20I in New Delhi, with Sanju Samson scoring 57 off 22 balls as India chased down 160 in 14.5 overs. Iyer subsequently spoke about his difficult start as India’s T20I captain and indicated that the team could rotate players for the final match of the series.
Iyer has also been part of the conversation around India’s upcoming ODI squad. He is expected to miss the West Indies ODIs because the series overlaps with India’s Asian Games campaign, where he is set to lead the T20 side.
Hardik Pandya searches rise amid selection questions
Hardik Pandya’s name is also gaining search interest as selectors weigh their options for the West Indies ODI series.
The all-rounder has been picked for India A’s one-day matches and is expected to return to competitive white-ball cricket around September 20. His availability is particularly relevant because India could have limited seam-bowling all-rounder options for the ODI series.
The three-match India-West Indies ODI series begins on September 27, with matches scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Mullanpur.
Google Trends Snapshot
The screenshot shows “Shreyas Iyer” at 2K+ searches, up 500%, while “Hardik Pandya” is at 1K+, up 75%. The trends had started approximately one hour and three hours earlier, respectively, when the snapshot was captured.
The search spike reflects how quickly team selection, captaincy developments and player availability can push individual Indian cricketers into Google’s trending sports searches.