Shreyas Iyer faces World Cup threat from Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma. (Agencies)
Shreyas Iyer’s ongoing fitness woes could see the middle order batter miss out on the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 with Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma waiting in the wings
Shreyas Iyer’s back injury remains a major concern for India in the weeks leading up to the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. With less than a month remaining before the start of the show-piece event on Indian shores, Iyer’s back issues have resurfaced. The middle-order batter missed out on India’s playing XI against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 clash and hasn’t featured in the subsequent games against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The Men in Blue are set to face off against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final on September 17, but it remains to be whether Iyer can prove his fitness before that. The 28-year-old has been included in India’s ODI World Cup squad, but his spot could be under severe threat if he cannot regain full fitness ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Australia slated to start on September 22.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Iyer attended an optional training session before India’s final Asia Cup Super 4 clash against Bangladesh and even though he batted well in the nets, Iyer was left on the bench for the dead-rubber tie.
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Iyer suffered back spams just before the fixture against Pakistan and had only just returned to full fitness having undergone surgery on his back that saw him miss the IPL 2023 campaign as well.
The Mumbai-born batter completed the training session on Thursday under the watchful eyes of trainer S Rajnikanth, who has been included in India’s staff to ease the transition of Iyer, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah, the trio are all making comebacks after long-term injuries.
After completing his warmup, Iyer tackled throw-downs for 20 minutes before he headed into the nets facing net bowlers for half an hour in the gruelling heat of Colombo, all if without much discomfort.
While it comes as a promising sign, Iyer hasn’t played a game for India since featuring against Nepal. BCCI on Friday in an official medical update revealed that Iyer is recovering well but is not fully fit yet.
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“Shreyas Iyer has shown improvement but he is not yet fully fit,” revealed the Indian board.
The 3-ODI series against Australia, plus the Asia Cup final and the two ODI World Cup warmup games mean India will play six matches before they take on Australia in their opening World Cup game on October 8.
In these six games, Iyer would have to prove his fitness, otherwise, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma could be given a run-in. SKY is known for his explosive batting and while he has struggled in the fifty overs format, he does offer India an X-factor. Tilak meanwhile made his ODI debut against Bangladesh and offers the Indian team a handy spin option from their top-order batters, a luxury all other teams will have.
Thus, Iyer will have his work cut to prove his fitness and regain his spot in the Indian team.
