Mumbai Cricket official shares MAJOR update on Shreyas Iyer’s return ahead of New Zealand ODIs, says…
New Delhi: Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar stated that the association will discuss Shreyas Iyer’s availability for the later stages of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. Iyer has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) since December 25 for further evaluation of his recovery from a serious spleen injury sustained during the third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in October.
“No, we have not spoken to Shreyas yet. But we will speak to him about his availability. As of now, there is no official confirmation on this. But it may come in the next few days from him,” Khanvilkar told IANS on Sunday.
As per IANS, a day before joining the CoE in Bengaluru, Iyer had resumed batting following his return to light gym training. He spent around 30–34 minutes batting at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) nets in Mumbai.
Iyer might return for Mumbai in Vijay Hazare Trophy
A source monitoring Iyer’s recovery said that if all goes smoothly and he receives clearance from the CoE, he might feature for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches in Jaipur on January 3 and 6.
It will be interesting to see whether the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee picks Iyer in India’s squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start on January 11. The committee is scheduled to meet in the first week of January to finalize the squad.
“The progress of Shreyas in CoE has been good so far. He’s targeting maybe the last two Vijay Hazare Trophy games to return to playing action. It’s up to selectors now to decide on his return to the ODI team,” further said the source.
Iyer’s return to the ODI squad would strengthen India’s plan for the 2027 World Cup. After the series opener in Vadodara, the second and third ODIs against New Zealand are scheduled in Rajkot and Indore on January 14 and 18, respectively