Wasim Akram Makes A Shocking Statement On Shreyas Iyer – India ticked a lot of boxes in both batting and bowling departments en route to their win of the Asia Cup 2023 trophy in Sri Lanka.
In the tournament, India defeated Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (twice), while losing to Bangladesh marginally, but the side that lost to Bangladesh had 5 of its first-choice players rested.
With this Asia Cup triumph, and the manner of victories – both emphatic against Pakistan and Sri Lanka while a hard-fought one while defending in the Super 4 game vs Sri Lanka – have once again asserted India’s status as strong favorites to lift the World Cup 2023 trophy at home.
However, one issue still remains is that of the lack of game time for Shreyas Iyer, and also his fitness uncertainty.
Shreyas Iyer returned from a back injury layoff and played two matches in the Asia Cup – he scored 14 runs against Pakistan in the first match, and had looked good in his brief stay, and didn’t get to bat vs Nepal. After that, he missed the Super 4 round and the final due to back spasms. That allowed KL Rahul to come in the side and he performed well while Ishan Kishan also played a couple of good knocks.
According to reports, Shreyas Iyer is currently recovering from the back spasms and could play in the upcoming ODI series against Australia.
However, will he be part of India’s best playing XI, that’s a question on everyone’s minds. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram reckons Iyer will find it really difficult to get into India’s best XI after good performances from Rahul and Kishan.
“I guess it was at the last minute (Shreyas got back spasms). He had it at the last minute just before the game. And, I think KL Rahul played for him and he went on to score a hundred against Pakistan.
“Of course, it will be tough for him to make a comeback and play in the eleven to start off with. Now you have to play with the players who actually got runs in the middle order and present form,” Wasim Akram said on Star Sports.
Shreyas Iyer 99% fit: Rohit Sharma
In the press conference after the win in the Asia Cup final, captain Rohit Sharma said that Iyer had ticked 99% fitness parameters, but was not completely fit for the final. He hinted that Iyer is likely to be fit for the 3-ODI series against Australia, starting September 22.
“Shreyas Iyer was not available for this game because certain parameters were kept for him to tick off. I think today, he completed most of it. I should say he is 99 percent fit as of nowm” Rohit said.
