Shreyas Iyer has began rehabilitation as he was ruled out of the ICC WTC Final, which will be played between India and Australia at the Oval in London beginning June 7.
On Thursday, May 25, Iyer could be seen sweating it out in the gym at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in a handful of Instagram stories.
For those unfamiliar, Iyer had successful surgery in London last month to recuperate from a reoccurring lower-back problem that began after the completion of the Bangladesh tour. The right handed hitter was unable to play in the ODI series against New Zealand or the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
He had to miss the ODI series against Australia as well as the whole IPL 2023 season for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
There is no set plan for Iyer’s return. He will be monitored by BCCI medical staff and NCA as he prepares for the 2023 Asia Cup and ODI World Cup later this year.
Shreyas Iyer will be replaced by Ajinkya Rahane
Shreyas Iyer has been replaced in Team India’s lineup for the WTC final by senior batter Ajinkya Rahane. He is anticipated to strengthen the middle order as Team India aims to win the World Test Championship for the second time after losing by eight wickets to New Zealand in 2021 under Virat Kohli’s guidance.
India’s squad for WTC final will be: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standby players are: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.