SHREYAS Iyer, who had missed out the last two days of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy finals citing back issues, has been declared fit to play the IPL but with a rider. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, who joined the IPL franchise, has been advised that he can’t lunge too much while playing the forward defense as this could aggravate his injury.
The Indian Express understands that Iyer visited a spine specialist in Mumbai after consultation with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Bangalore and the doctor has declared him fit to play with the precaution that he needs to be cautious while stretching his leg.
“He is fit to play, a specialist spine doctor was consulted in Mumbai who has advised him not to stretch his leg too forward while defending the ball. He has joined IPL franchise KKR and he can play,” a source in the Indian board informed.
Iyer has been in the news for his fitness issues in the last few weeks. Despite him stating that he is facing back pain after playing a certain number of balls, the BCCI medical team wasn’t convinced with his claims.
He was snubbed and scrubbed from BCCI’s annual retainer contract too after he bypassed selectors’ diktat of playing Ranji Trophy.
Iyer had missed Ranji Trophy quarter-finals but he played semis and final for Mumbai recently. He slammed 95 in the second innings in the final but didn’t turn up for fielding after he experienced back pain again. The MCA medical team decided to get an MRI done and his report was sent to NCA for further updates.
Iyer had complained of back pain after the second Test match between India vs England. However, NCA had declared him fit, even after his stating he was undergoing pain. Iyer was dropped from Test games thereafter and was asked to play Ranji Trophy. He missed Mumbai’s quarter-finals and it was then that BCCI secretary Jay Shah issued a letter to all contracted players stating domestic cricket remains a “critical yardstick for selection” to the national team.
The reason for the communication, according to the letter, was “the concerning trend of players prioritising the IPL over domestic red-ball cricket”. “There is a recent trend that has started to emerge and is a cause for concern. Some players have begun prioritising the IPL over domestic cricket, a shift that was not anticipated. Domestic cricket has always been the foundation upon which Indian cricket stands, and it has never been undervalued in our vision for the sport,” Shah said in the letter.
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