IND vs NZ: Shreyas Iyer Ruled Out of First Test Against Australia
Shreyas Iyer is yet to recover from a back injury.
In what comes as a massive blow to team India, Shreya Iyer has been ruled out of the first match of the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia, starting from February 9 in Nagpur.
Iyer, who made his Test debut for India against New Zealand in November 2021, suffered a back injury just before the start of the ODI series against New Zealand last month, and he has not yet recovered from it completely.
The 28-year-old’s absence from the starting lineup of India raises the possibility of Shubman Gill or KL Rahul filling the number five slot, with Surykumar Yadav as another option.
Iyer has only played seven Tests so far, amassing 624 runs at an average of 56.72 and a strike rate of 65. He kickstarted his Test career with a debut century (105) and 65 against New Zealand in Kanpur in 2021.
The Mumbai batter also shone in India’s recent series in Bangladesh, scoring 202 runs in three innings and finishing as the second-highest run-scorer for his team. The lack of his contributions will surely impact the Indian team in the series.
India’s Squad for The First Test Against Australia:
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
