According to former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Shreyas Iyer’s ongoing injury issues leading up to the World Cup could provide KL Rahul with a more significant chance to establish his place in the ODI starting lineup. Iyer had recently recovered from an injury and made a comeback to the team, however, he was ruled out of the match against Pakistan due to back spasms. KL Rahul missed the start of the tournament due to injury.
KL Rahul was also ruled out for the first two matches of the Asia Cup due to a niggle, and was declared fit for the match against Pakistan. He was expected to replace Ishan Kishan in the wicketkeeper spot, however, an injury to Shreyas Iyer meant that Kishan, who saved the team from a collapse against Pakistan could keep his place.
Injuries are part and parcel of the game. But getting injured that often, it’s either your bad luck or you are actually making a position for KL Rahul – Harbhajan Singh
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh was speaking on Star Sports and had a say on this, he felt that an injury-prone Shreyas Iyer will make life easier for KL Rahul and increase his chances of remaining in the team. He even enquired for answers from the NCA for frequent injuries of the player.
“I think getting injured at this point of time will put lot of things correct for KL Rahul. Obviously, nobody wants to get injured, but this opportunity with open a big door for someone like KL Rahul. What Rahul will bring to the table is stability to the batting line-up,” said Harbhajan Singh.
“It’s something to do with the kind of training that they do or with the kind of effort that they put in. That is the question that the NCA needs to answer because that’s where everyone goes and train themselves and get ready for the games,” he added.
Shreyas Iyer only played in India’s first match against Pakistan but was dismissed on 14 attempting to Pull Haris Rauf’s short ball. Sunil Gavaskar also mirrored Harbhajan’s statement saying that injury to Shreyas Iyer is definitely a concern for the team.
It’s a worry definitely. If a player is out injured for five-six months with an injury and then he has a similar injury now, with less than a month left for the World Cup to start, yes, it’s an area of concern – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar also acknowledged that Shreyas Iyer’s recurring injuries are a source of worry, especially considering the World Cup is less than a month away.
“In case he is not fit and he doesn’t recover, there will be somebody who will replace him. It’s sad because while he was batting against Pakistan, he looked in good touch” said Sunil Gavaskar
Shreyas has an impressive ODI record, having scored 1645 runs in 44 matches at an average of 45.69, with two hundreds and 14 fifties.