India batter and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer could miss the initial half of the upcoming IPL 2024, starting March 22, due to the recurring back injury that seems to trouble him again during the ongoing Ranji Trophy final in Mumbai.
Iyer, who scored an impressive 95 in the second innings against Vidarbha, had to be attended twice for back pain, later undergoing scans for the same, raising questions on his availability for his side’s opener against SunRisers Hyderabad on March 23.
“It’s not looking good. It’s the same back injury which has got aggravated. It’s unlikely that he will take the field on Day 5 of the Ranji Trophy final. He is in danger of missing the initial matches of the IPL,” a source told Times of India (TOI).
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Shreyas Iyer and his back injury have made enough headlines over the past 18 months. The right-handed batter underwent back surgery last year that kept him out of action for nearly six months, during which he missed last year’s IPL and the World Test Championship final against Australia in June, which India lost.
Iyer returned to action ahead of the Asia Cup in August before featuring at number four in the home World Cup later in the year. His exploits helped India reach the finals, but he failed to inspire the home team to go past the mighty Aussies as they won the all-important clash by six wickets to lift the trophy for a record sixth time.
Injury and misery!
Even against England during the recently concluded Test series, Iyer complained of back pain to the team management.
“During the recently-held Test series against England at home, he had told the Indian team management about this injury troubling him again,” the source added.
Although he got dropped from the squad for the final three Tests with concerns surrounding his recurring back issues, the selectors confirmed they dropped Iyer due to his poor form.
Soon after he got dropped, the BCCI asked Iyer and Ishan Kishan (who had been away from cricket since December last year due to personal issues) to feature for their respective Ranji teams in the competition. However, both didn’t abide by the board’s instructions, leading to BCCI sending him the final warning.
Despite remaining fit and available for selection, they didn’t feature for their Ranji sides, eventually leading to BCCI removing them from the central contract for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, KKR is yet to respond to this report.