Rohit Sharma provides unfortunate update on Shreyas Iyer after latest injury setback

Shreyas Iyer, who complained of lower back pain during the third day of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and underwent scans, is expected to be out of action for some time. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Iyer would not play in the rest of the Test match, and Indian captain Rohit Sharma stated that the batter "does not seem to be doing well." Although Rohit did not specify the severity of the injury, it appears that Iyer will not participate in the three-match ODIs against Australia, which is scheduled to take place in Mumbai starting March 17.

Rohit on Iyer's injury

Earlier this year, the Mumbai batsman opted out of the ODI series against New Zealand and later underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. While sources within the Board suggested that Iyer would take at least a few weeks to recover, he missed the first Test against Australia in Indore due to a back injury. Here's what Rohit Sharma said at the post-match press conference. 

“Poor guy. It just was such an unfortunate incident. He had to wait all day to bat and then when the day got over, the issue he had with his back, recurred. He was sent to the hospital to take scans. I don’t know the exact report of the scans, but he does not seem to be doing that well,” Rohit said after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1.

"Obviously, that’s why he’s not present here, so we don’t know the exact status of how long he will take to recover or when he will be back. When it happened, it did not look that great. I hope he recovers quickly and comes back and plays again," Rohit added.

After passing a fitness test, Iyer was immediately added to the team for the second Test in New Delhi, where he scored 4 and 12, but he struggled in the third fixture in Indore, scoring 0 and 26. Iyer has been dealing with lower-back problems for the past few months, and this most recent incident raises questions about the NCA and its fitness program. It is another example of a player's injury resurfacing soon after receiving the medical committee's approval to play international cricket. Earlier, it was Jasprit Bumrah who went through a similar ordeal. 

Iyer, who is also the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, is now doubtful to start the tournament. Although the franchise has not commented on the situation, it remains to be seen how things will develop in the coming days leading up to the March 31st start of the tournament.

Image: BCCI