Curated By: Aakash Biswas
Last Updated: September 19, 2023, 10:18 IST
India batter Shreyas Iyer (AFP Imager)
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar gave a brief explanation of Iyer’s health and stated that the 28-year-old is completely fit to be named in the squad for the Australia ODIs
It was surprising to see Shreyas Iyer getting a spot in India’s squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against Australia, starting Friday in Mohali. The right-hand batter complained of a back spasm last week after which he was ruled out of India’s Super Four tie against Pakistan. The same issue barred him from participating in the next face-off against Sri Lanka and eventually, he missed out on the next two games as well, including the finale against the co-hosts which India won by 10 wickets.
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While addressing a press conference on Monday, chief selector Ajit Agarkar gave a brief explanation of Iyer’s health and stated that the 28-year-old is completely fit to be named in the squad for the Australia ODIs.
“He’s not picked up a stress fracture; otherwise he wouldn’t be in the squad. He’s fine – whether he’s batting or fielding. At the moment, he’s fit; that’s why we picked him in the squad. We are hopeful that he gets through all these three games,” Agarkar said.
“He’s worked incredibly hard over the last many months to be at this stage, to be fit. Fortunately for him, it wasn’t a massive injury, but he did pick up a niggle. He’ll have to get through these games, and we are hopeful that he will. At the moment, he is fine,” he added.
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The past 7-8 months haven’t been easy for Iyer. He suffered a stress fracture in his back and was ruled out of the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad. As he was required to go under the knife, he missed out on the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) followed by the World Test Championship Final and the West Indies tour.
After spending days at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and going through match simulations, Iyer walked back into the dressing room and played the first two games in the Asia Cup 2023 before getting ruled out again.
