In what could be a huge blow to the Indian team, star in-form batter Shreyas Iyer is ruled out of the first Test against Australia starting February 9th in Nagpur. Iyer, who missed the ongoing white-ball series against New Zealand owing to the back injury was asked to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for rehab. As per the latest reports, Iyer has not recovered from the back pain despite taking injections, and has been advised to take rest for two weeks. As a result, he will not join the Indian team for the pre-series camp on February 2nd, and will instead return in reckoning for the second Test subject to his fitness.
“His injury hasn’t healed as expected and he will take two weeks at least to play cricket again. He will certainly not be available for the first Test and his availability for the second Test will be subject to his fitness report,” a BCCI source was quoted saying in the Indian Express.
The absence of Iyer could mean a likely Test debut for Suryakumar Yadav, who alongside Ishan Kishan was picked for the first two Tests. However, with both Iyer and Rishabh Pant not being there now, India could field a relatively newer side than the one that played against Bangladesh in December.
What’s the silver lining here is that the star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is now deemed fit and will join the Indian team after a gap of nearly five months. The 34-year-old Jadeja suffered a knee injury during the Asia Cup in Dubai in August-September last year that ruled him out for an extended period. Playing his first competitive match during the Ranji Trophy group game for Saurashtra last month, Jadeja fared well with the ball, picking up eight wickets against Tamil Nadu, including seven in the second innings.
On the other hand, newly-married KL Rahul has even resumed training and will also join the camp on Thursday.
The first Test begins in eight days in Nagpur while Delhi (17-21 Feb), Dharamsala (1-5 Mar) and Ahmedabad (9-13 Mar) will host the remaining Tests.
Here’s India’s 16-man squad for the first two Tests –
Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
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