Shreyas Iyer out of England ODIs; set to miss at least first half of IPL also
Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the remaining two England ODIs after hurting his left shoulder in the field during the series opener on Tuesday night in Pune. Cricday understands Iyer, who dislocated his shoulder, is set to miss the first half of the IPL where he is the captain of the Delhi Capitals.
On Tuesday Iyer was taken for scans immediately after he walked off the field during the eighth over of England's chase. In a flash medical update at the time the BCCI said Iyer had "subluxated" (partially dislocated) his left shoulder. Although the BCCI is yet to announce Iyer's exit from the England series, it is understood that the injury will take several weeks to heal, putting in doubt Iyer's return for the IPL. It is understood that Iyer is likely to undergo surgery on the left shoulder which he has injured thrice since the 2020 IPL. In case Iyer does undergo surgery, his recovery period could stretch to a few months.
I've been reading your messages and have been overwhelmed by all the outpouring of love and support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone. You know what they say, the greater the setback, the stronger the comeback. I shall be back soon pic.twitter.com/RjZTBAnTMX
— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) March 25, 2021
Iyer's absence is unlikely to hurt India's gameplans for the remaining two matches in the ODI series considering there is more than one option on bench in Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill.
It is the Capitals who will feel the pain of Iyer's injury considering he is not only their leader but also a key batsman in the top order. It is likely that Rishabh Pant, who is the vice-captain, will lead the Capitals until Iyer returns.
This is the second time in the last six months that Iyer has suffered a shoulder injury, having picked one during the white-ball segment of the Australia tour. Before joining the India squad for the limited-overs series against England, Iyer had played in just four of the eight 50-overs matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai, in which he scored two centuries.
The timing of his injury will also concern Lancashire, who had signed Iyer for the Royal London Cup (50-overs tournament) in the summer. Iyer was meant to join Lancashire from July 15.
Iyer had a prolific IPL season in 2020 and led the Capitals to the final, in which they lost to the Mumbai Indians. Iyer was the fourth-highest run-scorer then, and second-highest for the Capitals, with a tally of 519 runs behind KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner.
The Capitals' first game is on the second day of the 2021 IPL, against the Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai.