Injury Update: Shreyas Iyer Resumed Batting In Nets Before Bangladesh Match – On Friday, India will take on Bangladesh in the last match of the Super 4 round of the Asia Cup 2023 in Colombo.
With their wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, India have already sealed their place in the final – they will meet either Sri Lanka or Pakistan in the final – while Bangladesh are already knocked out from the race for the final after losing to Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Since India have a place booked in the final, Rohit Sharma is set to ring multiple changes to the XI that played against Sri Lanka and keep the players fresh for the final on Sunday. The talk about changes in the side was also alluded to by the bowling coach Paras Mhambrey in his press conference on Thursday. Cricbuzz has reported that India could make “four or five changes” in their playing XI.
While most of the Indian players have made a positive impact in their chances so far in the Asia Cup, one who would be itching to take the field is Shreyas Iyer. However, there remains a doubt over his comeback, even though he resumed batting in nets on Thursday.
Shreyas Iyer missed both Super 4 round matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to back spasms. He was carded to play against Pakistan but suffered back spasms in the warm-up and India slotted in KL Rahul just 5 minutes before the toss. Rahul made full use of his opportunity with a brilliant century vs Pakistan and a composed 39 vs Sri Lanka on a tough pitch.
Shreyas Iyer ‘unlikely’ to play vs Bangladesh
Journalist Vimal Kumar spotted Shreyas Iyer batting in the nets on Thursday, and tweeted Iyer was “batting very confidently”. However, later in the night, Cribuzz said that Shreyas Iyer is “unlikely” to be fit for the Bangladesh match.
“If Iyer were to miss the match, which is most likely, there is little chance that he would be tried in the final, especially with KL Rahul securing his position in the side. He may only get game time during the three-match ODI series against Australia later this month,” Cricbuzz added.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj could be rested and be replaced by Shami and Prasidh Krishna. Shardul Thakur was benched for the Sri Lanka game and could replace Axar in the side. All-rounder Hardik Pandya is also someone who could be rested. Among the batters, India might want to give game time to Suryakumar Yadav, who is picked in the World Cup 2023 squad; someone like Virat Kohli might be given a rest.
