Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey
Indian middle-order star Shreyas Iyer is likely to join back the national squad for the second Test against Australia scheduled to be held in New Delhi from February 17-21. Iyer was nursing a back injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru over the last month.
He suffered a swelling in his lower back after the two-Test series against Bangladesh in December. That ruled him out of contention for the One Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand in January and even the opening game of the ongoing series in Nagpur.
Iyer had to take injections at the NCA and the entire rehabilitation process took longer than expected. Now, the stage seems to be set for him to reclaim the number five slot in the playing XI – ahead of Suryakumar Yadav who debuted in the red-ball format for India in the first Test.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper is one of the India’s finest players of spin bowling, having starred in the subcontinent ever since debuting in the format in November 2021 against New Zealand. He has featured in only seven Tests but boasts of an excellent average of 56.73 to go with five half-centuries and even a century as well.
He helped India clinch crucial victories in Bangladesh en route the team’s pursuit of a spot in the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC).
In the first Test, he entered the crease at a delicate stage when the score stood at 112-4. Together with Cheteshwar Pujara, Iyer struck an integral partnership and notched 86 runs in the process to help take the team to a respectable total of 404.
He followed it up with another fantastic knock of 87 in the second game in Dhaka. The Mumbai batsman came in with four wickets down and the team still trailing the home side by 133 runs. He forged a formidable partnership with Rishabh Pant, dominating the Bangladeshi spinners in their own backyard and helping India attain an important 86-run lead in the first innings.
Double century in whites against Australia
Iyer has previously asserted his dominance against Australia in whites, which was a practice match in the lead up to the 2017 series between the two sides in India. Playing for India A, the batsman had hammered 202 including 27 boundaries and seven sixes at the Brabourne Stadium against an Australian bowling unit that included their frontline spinners like Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keffe.
Will he replicate that performance in New Delhi again? Let us know by tweeting at @cric_blog.
