Retain Shreyas Iyer or drop him That is set to be one of the first questions for the Indian selection panel when it met on Friday evening to pick India’s squad for the three remaining Tests of the England series. Shreyas Iyer hasn’t been able to perform according to his credentials which has hurt team India.
As per the reports from ESPNCricinfo has learned that Shreyas Iyer had informed the team management that he had experienced back spasms a day or two after the end of the second Test in Visakhapatnam, which India won to level the series 1-1. The BCCI medical staff, though, are understood to have cleared Iyer for selection.
Apart from Rohit Sharma, Iyer is the only senior India batter to not register a significant score in the first two Tests – he made 35 and 13 in Hyderabad and 27 and 29 in Visakhapatnam. Considered one of India’s best batters against spin, Shreyas Iyer has, however, struggled to find fluency, struggling both in his defence and in his strokeplay.
Shreyas Iyer’s worrisome form and his tryst with injuries
Insiders believe Iyer’s struggles could be a result of him feeling stiffness in his back as he bats for long periods. A pinched nerve in his lower back flared up originally during the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023. Last April, he had undergone back surgery to deal with a slipped disc, which had caused him “excruciating pain” and made him doubtful about his future.
Iyer then missed the IPL, where he leads Kolkata Knight Riders, but returned to play for India in the Asia Cup. However, recurring back spasms restricted his involvement to just two matches. But a successful ODI World Cup, where Iyer played impact innings in the middle order – including in the semi-final against New Zealand – suggested he had completely recovered.
Dropped from India’s T20I squad in the home series against Afghanistan in January, Iyer tested his match fitness for the England Test series by playing a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai against Andhra, where he batted once and scored 48.
While he was in the squad for the first two Tests, there was no assurance that he would be in the XI – he was competing with KL Rahul for one middle-order slot. But once Virat Kohli ruled himself out for the first two Tests for personal reasons, and could be out for longer, Rahul and Shreyas Iyer got into the XI for the first Test.
Rahul, who was ruled out of second Test because of a quad niggle, is expected to be fit for the second part of the England series. Now the selectors have to decide whether they want to retain Shreyas Iyer or place their faith in Rajat Patidar, who made his debut in the second Test and impressed with his technique and composure. Not to forget, Sarfaraz Khan was also in the squad for the second Test, but didn’t get into the playing 11.
Ian Chappell on Indian squad after exclusion of Shreyas Iyer from the remainder of the test series
Former Australian captain Ian Chappell reacted to Team India’s squad for the remainder of the ongoing England series with scathing remarks on out-of-form batter Shreyas Iyer. Shreyas Iyer was excluded from the 17-member Indian squad for the final three Tests owing to poor form and injury concerns. The 29-year-old has gone eight Test innings without a half-century and struggled with the bat in the current England series.
Iyer has mustered only 104 runs in the two Tests at an average of 26.
In his column for ESPN Cricinfo, Chappell felt the return of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja would strengthen the side and was pleased that the selectors finally got it right by dropping Shreyas Iyer.
“India is a strong side and they also have a good leader in Rohit Sharma. They will be greatly strengthened by Ravindra Jadeja’s and KL Rahul’s recovery from injury, but that Virat Kohli will not return for the rest of the series is a blow. Hopefully the selectors will now stop overestimating Shreyas Iyer’s batting ability and learn to value Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket-taking capability more,” wrote Chappell.
The duo of Rahul and Jadeja missed the second Test with injuries, while Virat Kohli was out for both the opening two games.
Unfortunately for Team India, Virat Kohli will miss the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. With the series drawn level at 1-1 both India and England would give it their all in the remaining of three matches of the series starting from February 15 at Rajkot.