Team India batter Shreyas Iyer is back in the side after recovering from injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Iyer will make a comeback in the side after 5 months of rehab. Shreyas was doubtful for the ODI World Cup 2023 after injuring his back during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in March. However, he is back to full fitness and now ready to fill-in the number 4 position in the ODI lineup for India, a position which has worried captain Rohit and management as well during his absence.
“Been a long journey but I’m super grateful to the people who stood by my side to help me to get where I am today. Thank you Nitin bhai, Rajini sir and everyone at The NCA, who’ve been tirelessly helping me. Much love and much appreciated,” India’s Iyer said in his post.
Checkout the post here:
Iyer`s return to the national side is extremely good news for Men in Blue, who are looking towards him and KL Rahul to provide stability to the team`s middle order, which was filled by likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Sanju Samson etc in their absence. He will be looking to fill up the number four position.
At number four, Iyer has played 20 innings, scoring 805 runs at an average of 47.35 and a strike rate of 94.37. He has scored two centuries and five half-centuries at that spot, with the best score of 113*. (Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma Says To Reporter ‘Jeetenge Jeetenge’ At Mumbai Airport, Video Goes Viral)
Notably, Iyer was Men in Blue`s leading run-scorer across all formats last year. Iyer ended with 1,609 international runs at an average of 48.75 in 39 matches and 40 innings. He scored one century and 14 half-centuries this year, with a best of 113*. In five Test matches last year, Iyer scored 422 runs across eight innings at an average of 60.28, with four half-centuries. He ends the year with the best Test score of 92.
In 17 ODIs last year, he scored 724 runs at an average of 55.69. He was extremely consistent in the format, scoring one century and six half-centuries in his 15 innings, with the best score of 113*.
Iyer showed his top form in T20Is too, scoring 463 runs at an average of 35.61 and striking at a strike rate of 141.15. Four half-centuries came out of his bat in the 20-over format in 2022, with best score of 74*. The 2023 Asia Cup will be co-hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka with the tournament running from August 30 to September 17.
Asia Cup will serve as an important benchmark for India’s preparations for the World Cup starting in October and will also help selectors make choices for the marquee event.