In a positive development, Shreyas Iyer is set to play the IPL from the very beginning, it is learnt. This is despite the fact that the middle-order batsman suffered some discomfort with his back while batting in the second innings during the Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Vidarbha. Iyer also didn’t take the field on the fourth and fifth days, but that was a precautionary measure. Iyer was seen doing a jig after Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy.
“Shreyas is scheduled to join the KKR camp on Friday. He is unlikely to miss games,” a source told RevSportz. It is learnt that although the KKR captain is showing a tendency to develop back spasms when batting for long periods, his participation in T20s is unlikely to be affected. KKR play their first game in the IPL on March 23, against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Contract situation
Iyer has now played back-to-back Ranji games and sources said there was a feeling within the BCCI that his central contract should be reinstated. The 29-year-old, along with Ishan Kishan, was excluded from the list of centrally contracted players, ostensibly for skipping Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda. But as it turned out, the player didn’t ignore the BCCI directive. He was developing back spasms after facing 60 balls and went to the KKR academy in Mumbai to build his workload.
On March 2, RevSportz wrote about how Iyer had been playing through pain and that his exclusion from the list of the BCCI’s centrally contracted players might not be a fair call.
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The former RCB player also spoke about Dhoni’s future with CSK.
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— RevSportz (@RevSportz) March 14, 2024
RevSportz reported the chain of events, which was like this: After the second Test against England, Iyer informed the team management about persistent back pain that was impeding him from spending a long time at the crease. Then, he was dropped for the last three Tests and asked to go and play the Ranji Trophy. It is learnt that Iyer called Mumbai chief selector Raju Kulkarni, telling him that his back trouble would force him to opt out of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda. He didn’t report to the National Cricket Academy and an email from Nitin Patel, the head of sports science and medicine at the NCA, declared him fit.
The recurrence of Iyer’s back trouble during the Ranji final had created some doubt over his availability for the initial stages of the IPL. But as the source confirmed, he is expected to play from the very first game.
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