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India middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Nagpur starting on February 9, according to a report.
It has been understood that after returning to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru on Wednesday to get fitness clearance, Iyer was told that he needs to spend more time in rehab to recover from the back injury that had ruled him out of the recent ODIs against New Zealand.
28-year-old Iyer, who complained of a stiff back after the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, was given an injection for a swelling in his lower back at the NCA. He was expected to travel to Nagpur and join the India squad for their preparatory camp for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on February 2.
However, Iyer will now join the India squad for the second Test against Australia in Delhi starting February 17 after a precautionary step was taken by the BCCI medical staff to extend his rehab.
Iyer was one of the frontrunners for a middle-order spot in India’s batting lineup. So far, he has played only seven Tests, scoring 624 runs at an average of 56.72, hitting 1 century and 5 half-centuries. Iyer started his Test career with a bang by scoring 105 and 65 on debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 2021.
He scored 202 runs in three innings and was India’s second-highest run-scorer in their most recent Test series in Bangladesh in December last year.
In Iyer’s absence, Suryakumar Yadav, who is yet to make his debut in red-ball cricket looks like a strong contender to replace him at No.5.
India’s squad for the first Test against Australia: Rohit Sharma (capt), 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
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