India’s star batter Shreyas Iyer who did not play the first Test between India and Australia due to a lower back injury, has been declared fit by the Board of Cricket Control in India’s (BCCI) medical team for the second match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 in Delhi.
Iyer was rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and is likely to return to action with the forthcoming match against the Aussies. The Mumbai batter underwent an intense rehab programme to regain fitness; he also shared some videos on social media of him training at NCA in Bengaluru.
After a huge win in the opening game, India will now lock horns with Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday (February 17) for the second battle. Whether Iyer would be given a chance in the upcoming match or not depends completely upon the team management. However, in his absence in the opening match in Nagpur, world no.1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav made his longest format debut for the Indian side.
On the other hand, India’s premier fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah recovering from a stress fracture and already out from Test fixtures is set to miss the One Day International (ODI) series against the Aussies as well. The Indian management will look not to risk Bumrah ahead of the possible World Test Championship Final and ICC ODI World Cup 2023. His potential return to the ground will be in Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the meantime, Jaydev Unadkat will also leave the Test squad and fly to Kolkata to represent Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal, which commences from Thursday (February 16) in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
Talking about the Australia team, veteran pacer Mitchell Starc who did not play the first Test in Nagpur, was seen bowling in the nets ahead of the second Test. Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne was spotted keeping wickets to the spinners in the practice session.
